


The Price of Honor

by StarvingLunatic



Category: Kim Possible (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Guilt, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jealousy, Mad Science, Martial Arts, Mind Control, Ninja, Novella, Protectiveness, Rare Pairings, Romance, Sidekicks, Wordcount: 30.000-50.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-30
Updated: 2007-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-11 08:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 38,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11711115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarvingLunatic/pseuds/StarvingLunatic
Summary: Yori knows that being a ninja means going on missions, but she never expected her latest mission. It's really hard to believe what you can order out of magazines. ShegoYori. For Zaratan's Something Different, Something New contest.Sequel:Evil Takes a Vacation





	1. Being Ninja Ain’t Always Great

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t own these characters. I also don’t own Veet. I don’t own iPods. I also don’t own Marvin the Martian.
> 
> Marvin the Martian: I claim this pairing in the name of Mars. 
> 
> SL: Hey, wait a minute!—punts Marvin— I claim this pairing in the name of Earth!
> 
> A/N: Yeah, so I’ve never seen this pairing before, so I’m going to give it a try. 

The Price of Honor

1: Being Ninja Ain’t Always Great

Drakken sat at his desk in his lab, going over his bills. He figured since he was a genius, he could balance his own books and everything. Shego generally had a good laugh over that, believing it was just another thing for him to screw up. She was mostly right, especially since he noticed he might have to borrow money from her again to pay… well, her. He doubted that would go over well, especially if he had to explain that one. 

“She’ll get all huffy and start with the hurting words and then the hitting,” he muttered, feeling her sting already.

The scientist sighed, looking at the expenses that came from henchmen, hoping there would be some answer there for his budget problem. He searched his ledger, marking down every loose dollar, but it did not help much. He thought maybe he could skim money from the henchmen and funnel it to Shego’s paycheck, but as he eyed the paper, the gears in his mind turned.

The henchmen were almost as expensive as Shego and they did much less work. They were more pleasant to be around than Shego, but pleasant did not steal the components he required to take over the world. Pleasant also did not hold off Kim Possible long enough for him to get a scheme rolling. Pleasant did not pull him out of any close calls. If he held off on paying them, then he could pay Shego, but he knew he would eventually have the same problem again if not next month then the one after that. It was always like that.

The cerulean-skinned male huffed. “It’s like I’ll never get out of debt!” He cleared his desk of books and paper by sweeping his arms across the table like a petulant child. He folded his arms across his chest, wrinkling his cobalt jumpsuit.

Drakken turned his heated obsidian eyes to the floor where he pushed all of his papers and noticed some magazines mixed in with his finances. He would not have thought anything of it, but one of the magazines was open and it was opened to a very interesting advertisement. He rubbed his chin in thought.

“Maybe…” he mumbled.

Drakken stood up and went to retrieve the magazine to get a better look at the ad. His expression melted from upset to intrigued, the wheels in his head spinning once again. Maybe what he needed was cheaper and more competent help than what his henchmen provided. After all, Shego was worth more than all of his henchmen put together and there was only one of her. Even though Shego’s check alone was as much as the henchmen put together, she did infinitely more than they did, so they cost him much more in his opinion. So, maybe instead of having a bunch of worthless henchmen, he should get one more Shego.

“One that’s not as snippy,” he mused, mumbling thoughtfully to himself. Yeah, one more Shego would be nice, but one who did not have all of the extra mouth and hopefully one who did not want as much money as Shego.

Despite Shego’s smart-mouth, Drakken valued her, of course. She did what he told her to do for the most part and she even hung out with him sometimes, sort of like a friend. She went to karaoke night with him, watched movies with him on occasion, and sometimes even celebrated holidays with him if he asked nicely. She was supportive of him in her own weird way. Sure, she made fun of him all the time, but she never turned down a job once he got started, which she could easily do. Without Shego most of his projects would not even get off of the ground since it was not like he could steal most of the equipment that he needed.

“Why do I even have henchmen?” he asked himself with a snort. He was pretty much throwing away money by having them around since Shego did everything. She got the equipment, she held off Kim Possible, and she helped him escape, if not from the lair than from jail… most of the time anyway. It would definitely be a good move all around to find someone else as capable as Shego than keeping around a bunch of henchmen that did not do anything. “I might even be able to win with twice the Shego.”

He scanned around for a phone or anything to get in contract with the number on the ad, but the floor was totally cluttered. He supposed now, looking down at the mess that he made, clearing the desk with his forearms might not have been the wisest thing to do. He bent down and started grumbling to himself as he he searched for the phone. He shouted his triumph to the ceiling when he came across the lost the device.

“Ha ha! Drakken — one, phone — zero!” he cheered as he set himself up against the desk and began dialing the number. _This is a lot of numbers_. Still, he made it through. “This is probably my best idea this week!” he congratulated himself already, doing a little dance as he waited for an answer.

He was proud to have figured out a way to reduce costs in his operation on his own. Plus, he was probably going to raise efficiency. Shego would not believe it. She thought he could hardly tie his shoes without supervision. _Take that, doubting Shego!_ He did not even take into account all of the expenses that would go down if he had to let go all of his henchmen, like he would not have to worry about providing people with those red jumpsuits or feed a bunch of lazy, fat guys who probably could only catch Kim Possible if she had a steak tied around her waist.

“Why didn’t I see this before when they couldn’t open that pickle jar!” Drakken groaned to himself as he was put on hold. He began humming the tune that played, moving his body with the music. It was a peppy song that was just making him feel even giddier about his plan. He smiled all the way through it.

-8-8-8-8-

Yori was meditating in a secluded garden when she was summoned by Master Sensei. It was all a part of her morning ritual. She tended to devote much of her time to her art, so when she woke up in the morning, she did a couple of hours of Tai Chi, even though many of the ninja preferred to go through katas; katas were evening exercises for her. She took a shower and ate breakfast. She then went into her mediation on normal days, but it would seem that she was not in a normal day anymore.

She broke out of her trance when a bird landed on her shoulder with a note tied to its leg. She read the paper, which only had Master Sensei’s name on it, and hurried to his office in the main school building. It was disrespectful to keep Master Sensei waiting, so whenever he called for her, she always dropped whatever she was doing as soon as possible. There were a few students who made fun of her for how she snapped at his directions, but they did not know she heard. She did not care what they thought, especially since they more than likely would not last at the school. She did such things out of courtesy and a deep respect for the man who she believed not only saved her life, but gave her a purpose, like every other ninja there.

Yori had lost her parents at a very early age. She had been left with family members who did not like her much and did not take great care of her. To be blunt, they treated her like a slave for the most part, abused her, and did not seem to care if she lived or died. She never did understand why. She ran away when she was seven and probably would have died on the streets, frozen and starved, if Master Sensei had not come across her. He gave her a warm coat, fed her, and paid her simple attention. During that time she explained she was an orphan. He brought her to Yamanouchi and introduced her to the ninja arts, along with all sorts of stories about the heroic ninja who trained at the school, especially the founder. She had devoted her life to being a ninja from that point on and took it quite seriously, hoping to one day be like the honorable warriors she heard exciting tales about.

The light in the office was dull as usual since there was only one window open. Master Sensei sat against the wall with a small table in front of him. There was a paper on the table and he was focused on it.

“Sensei,” Yori greeted him, bowing deeply as she spoke.

“I have a mission for you,” Sensei informed the young ninja.

Yori nodded, expecting as much. Ever since she graduated the school and became a full-fledged, well-respected ninja, she was given missions like every other ninja at the school. She did not have many problems with taking on missions now, but the first time she had been given a real assignment had been a different story. She was still adjusting mentally to certain tasks, but it worked better for her to think that she was over her issues with those things.

“Here’s your contract and your instructions,” Sensei said while rolling up the paper that was on his desk. He sealed it by wrapping a string around it and stamping it with hot wax. Then, he handed it over. 

“I will do my best,” Yori replied in a strong voice.

The old man nodded and smiled with pride in his eyes. “I know you will. You’re free to leave at any time.”

Yori nodded and bowed again before exiting the building. The only time she was allowed to leave the school was when she went out on assignments. She had yet to earn any other privileges and she understood that. Being a ninja at Yamanouchi was all about earning rights through succeeding in missions. Missions were what kept the school going because that was how the ninjas earned their money, like their ancestors. None of the students at the school paid tuition, so something was needed to keep the operation moving and that was sending the graduates out on missions.

Once Yori was outside, she untied her assignment instructions. She read what was she was supposed to do and was shocked to see she had a long-term mission. She was being hired out indefinitely, as long as her new boss could pay for her services, she would be there. She was going to be acting as a “lackey.” Her brow furrowed and she frowned. Why was her mission described as “lackey?” She was used to cryptic language in contracts, but she never saw the term “lackey” before. She supposed she would have to have her new employer explain that to her.

Beyond that, there was a list of qualities she was expected to have as a “lackey.” Following directions and being amicable were at the top of the list. Those did not seem difficult. She would never dishonor her school or disappoint Master Sensei.

-8-8-8-8-

“Uh… Doctor D, where are all the henchmen going?” Shego asked as she entered the main room of the lair. She noticed a bunch of men in street clothes walking the opposite way and they carried boxes full of their personal junk. She would have thought they were changing lairs, but the henchmen would have been in those stupid jumpsuits if they were.

Drakken laughed. It was not quite his usual maniacal laughter, but smug nonetheless. Shego’s head hurt before he even answered. She just knew this was going to be “good.”

“They’re fired. We don’t need them anymore!” Drakken declared proudly, standing haughtily with his hands behind his back and a pleased look on his face.

“We don’t need the henchmen anymore?” Shego echoed with a raven eyebrow arched high on her head. She could not argue that one since she figured they did not need them much in the first place. Just about the only thing they were good for was heavy lifting. A crane and a forklift could do the same thing they did with less complaining and no medical expenses. Of course, it would probably take longer, but hell, they could rent guys from Hench Co if they really needed manpower. _Maybe he’s getting better with money_. She laughed. _Come on, this is Drakken. This is somehow gonna be dumber than having henchmen_.

“Nope!” he proclaimed with a grin. He clapped.

“And why don’t we need the henchmen anymore?” she asked, going to stand near Drakken. She found mocking him face-to-face was better than doing it a few feet away. _What stupid idea came to his insane head to have him let go of all the muscle?_

“Because I’ve come up with something even better.” He put up a dramatic fist, like in a pose.

“Better how? What’d you come up with?” she inquired, feeling she was about to be on something that would keep her amused for the rest of the day. Amused, or suffering from a headache, depending on what he did.

“Only this, Shego.” He held up the magazine he found the other day and showed it to Shego.

“You came up with ‘how to have smoother legs longer’?” she asked with a tiny smile.

Drakken balked at the question and pulled the magazine back to see what Shego was going on about. He saw the page he showed her as a “Veet” advertisement. He huffed and grumbled angrily as he started flipping through the magazine to find what he was talking about. Once he got to the page, he handed the magazine back to his sidekick, practically shoving the book into her hands.

“Tell me you didn’t,” Shego said, trying to hold in her laughter as she looked down at what Drakken showed her. Yeah, she would be amused for quite a long time from this. She might not stop laughing for the rest of the day.

“I called the number,” he boasted, putting his chin in the air and puffing his chest out.

 _Oh, god_ , Shego thought. She could not believe how proud he was over this. She bit her lip to try to keep herself from laughing, but it was not enough. It was just way too much for her. The emerald-eyed thief burst out, guffawing long and loud. She held her sides and bent down from the heartiness of the laugh. Tears gathered in her eyes. He was such a chump!

“Laugh all you want, Shego—” the mad scientist started, but she cut him off before he could do any further.

“Thank you, I will!” she remarked, slapping her knee. She felt like she understood the term “bust a gut” laughing now. She could not breathe! It was too funny.

He was not fazed by her typical behavior. “I’ll have you know this’ll save us all sorts of money and I won’t be behind on with your paycheck anymore,” he stated soundly.

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” she scoffed, wiping away tears. She coughed somewhat. “Oh, god, I needed that.” She took a breath, trying to pull it together. “I can’t even believe this. You actually fell for this!” She went right back to laughing. She pointed to the ad in the magazine, figuring it might annoy him, which would make things better for her.

“Look, this’ll definitely work,” he argued, folding his arms across his chest because of her reaction to his brilliant move. The fired henchmen did not even stop their movements, too used to how Drakken and Shego interacted.

“You ordered a ninja out of a magazine and you think it’ll work? Oh, man, this is too much! How can you not see the scam? I mean, really? I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Shego hooted, placing a hand on the floor to keep herself from falling over.

Darken stomped his foot and glared at Shego. “It will work! My ninja should be here in four to six business days.”

“Four to six business days! Did you have to pay for shipping, too? This is just too much! And this is why you’re firing all of the henchmen because of a hired ninja out of a magazine?”

Drakken sucked his teeth and turned his attention away from the skeptical sidekick. Shego was now on rolling around on the floor, holding her stomach with both arms. He watched the henchmen and made sure they all got out of the lair. He was sad to see them go. After all, they had seen him through some trying times, but it was time to move on to bigger and better things. He needed to save some money and then he would be able to conquer the world.

-8-8-8-8-

Yori was dropped off on the side of a mountain, flown in by helicopter piloted one of the Yamanouchi ninja. She looked to the older ninja for advice, but none came. She stepped out of the vehicle into the unknown. Her nerves were on edge. There was something off about this mission, but she could not put her finger on it. It did not help that she had been told not to wear her ninja uniform.

She was dressed in casual clothing. She needed to blend in if she was not in her uniform. She wore a dark blue skirt with a v-neck, sleeveless light blue shirt, showing off her tanned skin for the most part. Her hair was pulled back with her usual red headband. She had a large backpack, stuffed with her meager possessions, which was mostly clothes and weapons, since she was not sure how long she would be staying with her employer as a “lackey.” _I still dislike the sound of that word_. She was not sure what it was, but the way it rolled around in her head did not feel right.

“This whole thing doesn’t feel right,” Yori muttered to herself.

The ninja warrior walked through an open wide door cut into what appeared to be in a volcano from the warmth and smell. She was used to things being in or on mountains, so as long as it was not a live volcano, she did not think anything was wrong with there being a dwelling in the place. As she was coming in, she took in her surroundings. The walls were a mix of the natural stone and steel from the building within. There was a long corridor that was pretty bare, nothing on the walls and nothing on the floor. It was silent, to the point she could hear her own light footsteps on the polished floor. She noticed some cameras and small circles around the place, which she suspected were electronic eyes that did not seem to be on. She tried to avoid the cameras on instinct, even though she was supposed to be there.

A bunch of men marched down the hall, as if they were leaving while she was going in. She wondered why that was. It might just be a busy day for them, but then she overheard some of them talking. Many of them were grumbling about losing their jobs. Others were talking about going to work for a mad scientist that paid better.

“Mad scientist?” Yori echoed, slightly bemused. Did they meant “mad scientist” like the ones she read about in books and comics? She doubted it. Those were just make-believe, right? 

She continued on, going through a long corridor. Departing men with boxes passed her by. They had basically two body types between them. There were some who looked what she would consider overweight and then others that appeared to be suffering from malnutrition. She could not help entertaining the idea that the larger ones ate all the food from the smaller ones. She dismissed those thoughts as she came to one open room off to the side. She looked inside, seeing some more men moving about and also two stationary people. She decided that she would go speak with the two people who did not appear to be busy.

As Yori stepped into the open room, she noticed there was a large wall-mounted screen off on the far side. She passed by a circular table that had a light hanging over it, which curiously only had two seats despite the fact that there seemed to be dozens of people in the building. There were mechanical pieces lying about the area and a large machine setup off to her right. It did not appear to be on and she could not even begin guessing what it might be for.

She turned her attention back to the two people who were just standing around. She noted they were different from the other people around the place. First of all, one of them was a woman. The only woman the ninja had seen so far. Second of all, both of them had rather odd skin tones. The male’s body type was also different from all of the other men that she had seen so far. They were also dressed different, almost like they were in costume.

Yori took in their stances to try to figure them out. The woman, whose skin looked white with a green undertone, stood impatiently, tapping her foot against the tile with her arms folded across her chest. It seemed like she was annoyed with something. There was an underlying edge to her as if she was dangerous in some way. Yori supposed she would have to wait and see if that was the truth or if the woman’s body could lie well enough to make her come off as something fierce.

The man stood with tense shoulders, like he was upset, but there seemed something else to him. His foot tapped against the floor as well, but in a different way from the female next to him. She did not pick up a vibe from his body that he was dangerous physically speaking. There was still something about him that bothered her, though.

“Excuse me, I am looking for a Mister Doctor Drakken,” Yori said quite politely to the pair, getting them to turn to her since they were paying attention to the departing men.

“I’m Drakken. Who are you and how’d you get in here?” the cerulean scientist inquired with a puzzled voice. “Shego, have you been unplugging the security system again to recharge your iPod?” he demanded, glaring at the woman with his beady black eyes.

“As if this is my fault. Don’t try to blame me if your stupid system can’t stop a little girl from getting in,” Shego retorted with a scoff. She curled her upper lip and regarded Drakken with distain.

Drakken frowned and then turned his attention back to Yori. “Look, I don’t want to buy any cookies or magazines or whatever you’re selling… unless you have chocolate chip, anyway. Or maybe some thin mints,” he commented, hope in his voice with that last bit. He could really go for some cookies and milk right now. 

Yori’s face scrunched up from the exchange. She did not know what to make of them. Drakken seemed to be a bit strange, beyond the fact that he was sky blue color. It was almost like there was something wrong with his mind. The woman, Shego, did not seem to have the patience for him.

“Um… I am not selling anything,” the petite ninja replied in a confused tone. Why would anyone think she was selling anything?

“No, then what do you want? We’re very busy here,” Drakken declared, scowling at her.

“Busy laughing our asses off,” Shego muttered and she pulled out a nail file. She nonchalantly filed her nails. She had only just stopped laughing from hearing Drakken hired a ninja from an ad in a magazine.

“I am looking for Mister Doctor Drakken. I am from Yamanouchi. My name is Yori,” she introduced herself to her current boss. She bowed to him, which seemed to surprise him. The scientist stepped back and looked at the slender ninja with wide eyes and a partially open mouth.

“You’re the ninja I ordered?” he squeaked in disbelief.

Yori’s graceful features twisted a bit, but she forced her face to go back to normal seconds later. The way he described it made it sound like she was some book he got off the Internet and possibly did not want. She was not “ordered.” She was hired, like a person. Unused to such blatant and open disrespect, Yori did not even know what to say. 

“This is your big plan?” Shego asked as she got a good look at Yori. So far, the girl had been nothing but polite, almost docile. She probably did not weigh a hundred pounds, the sidekick thought. After taking in the sight of the “ninja” girl, she was at it again, laughing her head off.

“But, I wanted someone better!” Drakken cried, making his tiny hands into two tight fists. Now he looked like a fool in front of Shego, too. This ruined everything.

“Better?” Yori echoed, struggling to keep a neutral expression. He had not even seen her in action and he was already judging her. It was infuriating. She took a deep, calming breath, reminding herself that she had a mission to carry out. She had a responsibility to her school, so it would not be a good thing to knock her employer unconscious.

“They sent you a junior high school student!” Shego remarked, her head bent down and she slapped her knee again. This was the gift that kept on giving.

“What the! Where’s that magazine? I’m calling that number back and complain about being ripped off!” Drakken huffed, whipping his head around to hopefully locate that rip-off magazine.

“That’s what you get for ordering ninja out of underworld magazines!” his green-skinned sidekick commented, tears coming from her eyes once more. Oh man, Drakken was seriously making her day with everything that was happening.

“I can assure you I am quite capable of anything that you would have me do. I have brought my qualifications and everything if you would like to see them,” Yori said in a flat tone. She did not have to bring any of that stuff considering the fact that Drakken and Master Sensei had already faxed each other everything they needed in the transaction. She should not need to prove herself to these people.

“Yeah, I would,” Drakken said, frowning deeply because of his displeasure with being sent a ninja that was probably twelve years old.

Yori went into her bag’s side pocket and pulled out a folder. He snatched it, which caused a rare frown to mar her face. He mumbled as he went through the folder, reading off the things she could supposedly do. He actually did not understand most of it considering the fact he was not a ninja or even a martial artist. He was thankful it was at least in English.

“Ah, yes, well these appear to be in order. I guess I just expected you to be… older,” he commented. He expected older, bigger, and, well, deadlier looking. Yori looked like she might have trouble beating up a panda plush toy.

“Lemme see that,” Shego said as she snatched the folder from Drakken. She wanted to see what the papers claimed Yori could do. She would be shocked to find out that Yori was even old enough to vote. Her expression became more and more skeptical as she read the folder. “You expect me to believe you made up that many of your own ninja techniques?” she inquired, glancing up at the younger woman.

“The list has actually been cropped,” Yori answered honestly. She had been studying ninjutsu almost all of her life and she was rather talented at it. Mixed in with the fact that it was her passion, she had come up with quite a few techniques that work well with the fact that she was secretly into reading a lot of manga.

“Cropped, huh?” Shego mumbled, shaking her head.

“Well then, Shego, why don’t you show…” Drakken’s mouth dropped open and he looked back at Yori with a finger in the air. “What was your name again?”

“Yori,” the ninja answered with a sigh. She got the feeling she was not going to be enjoying her new mission, not that she ever enjoyed a mission. It was just she was certain on her list of “most hatred assignments,” she was about to have a new number one. Well, maybe not one, but she was sure this one would end up in the top five.

“Yeah, Yori.” Drakken said the name as if he had been the one to give it to her. “Shego take Yori to a free room and show her around the lair to let her get comfortable with the place.”

“Uh, Doctor D, do you think it’s wise to just show a new girl around your whole operation without being sure she is who she says she is? She could be a GJ agent or something,” Shego pointed out, not that she cared. There was only one goody-goody in the world who bothered her and that one did not work for GJ.

“Well, she just said—” Drakken started, but the plasma-wielder cut him off.

“And since when do we just take people’s word on things,” Shego pointed out with an upset huff. Sometimes, she felt like she was babysitting a cranky toddler. _Who am I kidding? I feel like that most of the time_.

Drakken muttered and went to go run a check to make sure that Yori was who she said she was. Yori and Shego stood there, keeping the small distance they had between them. Shego went back to checking over Yori’s file while Yori noted the hostile vibes radiating from Shego. She figured if she had to work with Shego, things might be a bit difficult, especially since it was obvious Shego did not trust her.

The green-skinned woman seemed to be more on the ball than her employer, Yori noted. Shego went through things that took common sense, which Yori was not surprised Drakken lacked after interacting with him for only a few minutes. Still, she got the feeling Shego was not going to help her enjoy or even tolerate her mission.

Once Drakken was through with his checks, finding Yori was legitimate, so to speak, he told Shego to show her to a room. Shego huffed and muttered something about not being the butler, but she waved Yori on to follow her. Yori adjusted her backpack and then trotted out after the pale green woman.

“Um… excuse me…” Yori said in her usual polite tone.

“What?” Shego inquired in a huff.

“I was just wondering if you know what kind of work I will be doing for Drakken-san,” Yori replied. She would have referred to Drakken a bit more formally if he had shown her more respect.

“Knowing Drakken, you’ll probably just be stealing junk since he can’t seem to invent stuff on his own, even though he wants everyone to think he’s a genius,” Shego remarked, waving her hands a little.

Yori nodded. The work seemed straightforward then. She had missions that involved stealing. The first time, it had bothered her a great deal, but Master Sensei reminded her that as a ninja, she worked for those who hired her and did not ask any questions once the contract was drawn up and agreed upon. She worked passed her moral issue with stealing by not wondering what things were for or who they belonged to before she got her hands on them. Well, she liked to tell herself that she worked passed it.

“Well, kid, here’s your digs. Don’t bother me for anything,” Shego said rudely while dropped Yori off at the first empty room they came across.

“Thank you,” Yori said graciously, bowing to the green-skinned female.

“I’m Shego,” the sidekick introduced herself blandly, waving off Yori’s formalities.

“Thank you, Shego-san. I’m—” Yori tried to introduce herself, but she was cut off.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got that, kid,” the pale female commented and she turned to leave the area.

Shego abandoned Yori at the doorway. Well, it was apparent Shego did not like her. The younger woman figured she would not be making any friends on her mission, which was not something she was looking to do anyway. Assignments were there for money to be made and to keep her school going. She did not need friends, anyway.

The ninja looked into her new room, which was bare. It did not bother her. She could not remember a time when she had a room that seemed personal. But, there was something about this room. The air was stale and the silence seemed mocking. It made her heart hurt a little.

Yori sighed and stepped into the room. The automatic door slid shut behind her, echoing loudly in her ears, telling her that she was trapped. That was the problem. Even though it was the largest room she had ever had, it seemed like a cage. She felt as empty as the barren room. She looked down while running her fingers through her straight ebony hair. She could not shake the bad feeling that now followed her more closely than her shadow thanks to her new assignment.

-8-8-8-8- 

Next time: Yori and Shego have to work together, which they have a tough time of.


	2. Right Way, Wrong Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters.

2: Right Way, Wrong Way 

“Shego!” Drakken called loudly. He was bent over his desk, eyeing his latest blueprint. He was certain his latest idea would be the one that worked. 

“What have we said about the inside voice when I’m right next to you?” Shego teased.

Shego was less than ten feet away, sitting with her feet kicked up on a table and a magazine in hand. She was now careful about what magazines she brought and left around the lair. She did not want Drakken ordering any samurai warriors or Templar knights out of the things next. So, she was reduced to reading “Better Lairs and Weapons” since there not many ads in it and none of those ads included hiring people. It was boring as hell.

“This is no time to get snippy, Shego. I’ve got my next brilliant idea!” he declared, throwing a hand up in triumph thanks to his great mind.

“And by brilliant you mean ‘doomed to be a complete and utter failure,’“ she remarked, eyes still on the magazine. “I’m still laughing from your last brilliant idea.”

“It’s that kind of defeatist attitude that ruins all of my foolproof plans,” he huffed, frowning in her direction, even though she was not paying him any mind.

Shego’s eyes did not leave the magazine and she chuckled. “Really? And here it is I thought it was because all of your ideas are hopelessly complicated or just plain dumb.”

“That’ll be enough out of you, Shego. Now, I need you and… what’s her name again?” Drakken stopped to look thoughtful, trying to recollect the new girl’s name. He tapped his chin for a moment and then turned his attention back to his plan, like he could not be bothered.

“Yori,” Shego offered, bored.

He arched an eyebrow in confusion. “You’re a what?” he asked.

Shego sighed and hit herself in the head. “Oy,” she muttered in annoyance. Some days, she did not know how she survived him. “Yori is the ninja girl’s name. I think you were trying to remember her name.”

“Oh, right. Yori.” He nodded, as if that would keep her name in his head. “Yes, take Yori and go get the omni-power cell from this lab,” he ordered her while handing her a card with a name and a picture on. The card was for her to know where she was going to and to see what the device looked like, so she knew what to steal.

“The omni-power cell?” she echoed in a bewildered tone. Who named these things anyway?

“It’s an unlimited power source. I’m going to use it to make a weather machine, which takes a lot of power,” Drakken informed her.

“Uh… didn’t we do that once before?” she asked, brow furrowed in confusion. Drakken had lost his mind so much that he was starting to repeat things. 

“There’s a difference here. I’m going to use the weather machine to seed the clouds and rain down my brainwashing shampoo on it,” he explained with a grin, clearly proud of his plan.

“You still have that junk?” she inquired in disbelief. That plan was made a couple of years ago, after all. Well, at least he was recycling. 

“Look, it didn’t sell very well and I made a lot of it, so I have to use it for something,” he pointed out.

Shego shrugged and sighed. “Of course you did.”

“Well, I had a good marketing campaign,” he huffed. “Kim Possible’s the reason it didn’t sell.”

She decided not chime in on that one, definitely not needing that headache. She got up from her seat, leaving her magazine behind, and went to go get Yori. She was tempted to just leave without the so-called ninja, but she was not in favor of letting Yori get paid for probably reading hot-boy magazines in her room. Besides, it would be nice to see what she could do or watch her get bit by a guard dog. Whichever. So, she walked down the corridor to the room that she set Yori up in.

The green-skinned woman had not been by the room since she put Yori in it a few days ago. Yori was a quiet kid, she noted, because she had not seen the young woman since then. She was not even sure if Yori had been out of the room since she showed up. She was right about that.

“Hey, kid,” Shego called into the room as she just walked in. She was surprised to find herself surrounded by darkness. Her body tensed and was automatically on guard.

Yori did not have any of the lights on in her room, covering the place in pitch-black shadows. Unlike most people, the night comforted Yori. It gave her a sense of being completely alone in the universe and allowed her to calm herself down. Things had been like that since she was younger. When she was a child, she knew she was safe in the dark. It meant that no one who wanted to hurt her could find her. So, darkness for her was like a pair of loving arms, soothing away any ill feelings, which worked out for her later on in life since she did become a ninja.

Yori had been in the dark since she was given the room, meditating most of the time when she was not sleeping. She had been trying to clear an anxious feeling out of her body since she arrived at Drakken’s lair. Something was making her uneasy, tearing at her mind, making her wish she did not have to do uphold her contract. Unfortunately, she could not pay the feeling any mind since she had to go ahead with the contract until Master Sensei told her otherwise. So, the best she could do was attempt to will the uneasiness away to make sure that she could function to the best of her ability and uphold her school’s honor. 

“Kid,” Shego called again as she took a step deeper into the room, her muscles tensing a bit more.

“My name is Yori,” the ninja stated, causing Shego to jump because the voice was coming from behind her.

“Don’t sneak up on me!” Shego growled as she whipped around to face the younger warrior. The sidekick’s hands instantly balled into fists, ready to throw down. She could hardly make out Yori’s features, even with the dull light from the hall coming into the room that seemed to be as dark as space. 

“I was not aware I was sneaking,” Yori answered honestly. It was her way to step silently at all times. Also, it was her room, not that a person would be able to tell it was anyone’s room from looking at it. But, the point was that if anything, Shego was the one that was sneaking, creeping into her space without her permission. She was not impressed with the fact that the older woman had not sensed her so close by.

Shego sucked her teeth while silently forcing herself to relax. “C’mon, we got a thing to do,” she stated in a gruff tone. She was upset with the fact that the younger woman had surprised her. But, it was dark and the kid was dressed in all black.

“A thing?” Yori echoed. Her face twisted. What was a thing?

Shego sighed. Apparently, she was working with another genius. “A thing. A job.” She was not sure if she would be able to survive two headaches.

The ninja nodded. “Oh. What’re we doing?”

“Stealing some kinda power cell or whatever. Same old, same old. You’ll get used to it. Doctor D gets these crazy ideas, he sends us out to yank things from high-powered labs, even though he’s supposed to be this big genius or whatever, and then the plan fails. It’s sort of a formula,” Shego explained in a bored tone.

“I don’t understand,” Yori admitted, shaking her head, even though Shego could not see the motion fully. Yori’s brain did not like the layout Shego just gave her, even though it sounded like something she typically did. Yori had quite a few missions that involved stealing, but not for some grand scheme or genius. What was she signed on for?

“You’ll catch on real fast. So, c’mon. Let’s just get this over with,” the super-powered woman commented.

Yori did not argue because her job was to listen to her employer. Sure, Shego was not her employer, but she carried a message for the man. So, for the moment, she would listen to the pale sidekick. She took a moment to change clothing, getting into her black mission gear, which only made Shego roll her eyes when she saw.

Yori left with Shego, curious as to how things were going to go. Yori was not accustomed to working with someone else when she had missions. She preferred working alone when she was doing most of missions anyway. If she was the only witness, then later on she could act like it never happened. Despite the fact that she willingly went on assignments, she was still bothered by taking something that was not hers. She did it because she owed her school and to uphold her school honor, she had to take and complete assignments. Missions also kept the school going and she wanted to help the school in whatever way Master Sensei saw fit.

There was also the fact that Yori was not so confident of Shego’s abilities. She had managed to get the drop on the pale woman without even trying. It seemed too simple to her, so she doubted Shego could do much if it was so easy to “sneak up” on her. She was not the only one skeptical on the new partnership.

Shego was not used to pulling job with a partner who was supposed to help. Yes, she was used to Drakken tagging along for whatever reason, but she was not used to taking someone with her that was supposed to actually pull her own weight. And although Yori did not seem to weigh much, Shego doubted the girl would be able to pull anything at all. 

To Shego, Yori looked like a regular harmless teenage girl. Yori probably did not know a damn thing about breaking into a kindergarten, so a highly secure lab was laughable for her to even try in Shego’s opinion. She figured Yori’s idea of stealing probably involved her borrowing pants from a friend and not returning them. She definitely was not buying the fact that Yori was a ninja considering the fact that Drakken was able to order her services from a magazine ad. After all, what kind of a reliable ninja school advertised in villain magazines? Wherever Yori came from was probably just some scheme that Drakken fell for. She did discount the fact that Yori was able to sneak up on her. It was probably just an accident, she concluded.

“Look, just don’t get in my way on this thing,” Shego said to Yori as they walked off toward the hoverport to pick up a ride. She held up a small picture for Yori to see what the item looked like.

Yori shrugged, not really having much to say. She would stay away from Shego if that was what the older woman wanted, especially if Shego wanted to do the job a different way than Yori figured would be best. She was not about to be caught doing something disgraceful by following around someone who probably did not know what she was doing. 

Shego sucked her teeth, apparently expecting an argument. In fact, Shego did not know what to do since no argument came up and she sat there silent for a good deal of the time while flying the hovercraft. Yori did not mind the lack of conversation, preferring the silence as it gave her a chance to focus on the task at hand. They did not speak to each other again until they got to the highly secure lab. The moon was high, but behind a cloud and they stood on the roof where they debated which way was best to enter the place to acquire their target.

“Look, we’re going this way. End of discussion,” Shego said soundly while pointing down at a blueprint. She wanted to go the shortest distance while Yori wanted to go the path of least resistance. Both believed their paths it would be faster. They both thought the other was stupid for wanting to go a different way and they both actually had the same reaction.

“That way could be a lot trouble,” Yori objected strongly, but almost politely. She knew working with the green-skinned woman would more than likely let to her capture while doing something that would leave her burning with shame if she was even caught. She refused to let some wannabe shame her. She also refused to let anyone make her fail.

“Your way could take all night,” Shego replied. Like hell she was going to go all around the lab just to avoid all of the cameras and guards. She had better things to do with her life. She would never spend that much time on a Drakken thing unless Kim Possible showed up.

“But, it results in us getting away without a problem,” Yori stated.

“Like hell it does. All we need is one guard to wander close by and we’re stuck in one spot for the whole damn night,” the pale woman huffed.

“I am not going to be caught,” the ninja said in a flat tone.

“You’ll end up sleeping in the damn vent if you go that way.” 

Yori was done arguing, figuring Shego was just being a stubborn woman who did not want to admit her way was wrong. Yori had met many people like that and they typically did not last long in whatever they were doing. She was not going to waste her breath, Yori decided. She needed to stay focused on the task at hand anyway, she reminded herself. So, she turned her head, looking in the direction that she wanted to go. Shego did the same and they silently came to the same decision. They walked away without another word, each going her own way.

“Dumb kid’s probably gonna get caught,” Shego muttered to herself, not that she cared. She did not want to go out for every caper Drakken send her on with a fool kid anyway.

“She’s probably going to get caught,” Yori figured while putting on her black hood to hide her face.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego sucked her teeth as her shortest route proved to be quite irritating. She stumbled across couple guards that spotted her and had to take them out. She tried to be quick about it, getting behind them and using her knockout touch. That still held her up and it was not enjoyable. She would be annoyed if she found out that little so-called ninja girl actually made it to their target before her. She was going to be very annoyed.

“Is every damn guard in the place in this hallway?” she huffed.

-8-8-8-8- 

Yori dropped quietly into the lab from the vent. She had to go around several different areas to avoid guards, cameras, and laser eyes, but she was in the lab first, she noted. _That woman probably got caught already_. She ducked for cover as soon as she hit the floor, even though she had already scanned the room from up above. She preferred being safe than sorry.

Once she was certain she was the only person in the lab, she stood up to grab the omni-power cell. Shego still was not around, as expected. _I knew my way was the best way_. A slightly arrogant smirk actually graced her usually humble features.

“I knew that woman was not efficient,” Yori muttered, feeling like her initial belief of Shego held true. After all, what kind of thief went out in such a bright color like green? She could easily be seen, which Yori thought showed Shego’s incompetence along with her actions.

Nothing about the green-skinned woman seemed professional to Yori. First, from what she could tell, Shego did not take what they were doing seriously. She did not take their employer seriously. Shego’s whole attitude seemed wrong for what they were supposed to be doing. 

She went to the cell, which sat harmlessly on a mostly clear table nearby. It was about the size of a DVD player, but black in color with one side that had plug holes in it for wires. She wrapped her arms around it and was about to just take it off of the table, but ran into a problem. It was heavy. Very, very heavy.

The ninja took a deep breath, centering herself to focus her energy and strength into her task. She tried to lift it again, but found that no matter how much she concentrated, she definitely would not be able to lift the battery out of the lab. Her heart sank as she thought about how she was going to fail her first mission with her new employer and bring shame to her school. She would let Master Sensei down. She felt ready to panic at the very thought of disappointing the man that saved her life. 

Yori’s breathing sped up a bit and her heart clenched in her chest, causing her to grit her teeth. She put a hand to her chest while placing the other one on the table, needing to support her weight while she had an episode, which was new to her. Sensei had faith in her to do a job, to keep the school financed, and to not make him a liar from the way he sang her praises to her employer. She tried to take a deep breath, but found it impossible. _Calm down. Just calm down_. 

She took her hand from her chest and put it to her forehead while continuing to pant. _Center yourself_. She rubbed tight circles over her head as if it would cure all of her ills. Again, she tried for deep breaths, finding her lungs too tense to do so. She jumped as she heard a familiar smart-ass voice.

“What’s the matter, kid? Too heavy?” Shego teased as she came up from behind Yori. She had a haughty smirk on her face now, even though on the inside she was pissed Yori had beat her to the objective. She moved close to Yori, invading her personal space, hoping to make the younger woman uncomfortable.

The ninja could not speak for a moment. She could not believe Shego had managed to sneak up on her. She could argue it was because she let her guard down, too busy having a breakdown, but that was horrible on her account, too. It only added insult to injury for her. Added to the fact Shego had surprised her, Yori noted the older woman looked just as she did when they were on the roof, nonchalant and intact, even though it was a given that she had run into guards. She dared think there might be more to Shego than what she was willing to give the pale female before.

“This is why you should’ve followed me. I bet it’s too heavy,” Shego said in a singsong voice. 

Shego was willing to concede to herself that maybe there was a bit more to Yori than she was willing to give the younger woman before. After all, Yori had beaten her to the omni-power cell. Maybe she had some skills, Shego considered. She did not have any muscles, though, since she did not seem to be able to lift the power cell. So, Shego doubted she had to worry much about the kid being better than she was. She made it to the cell easily, even if Yori beat her to it, and she was more than likely going to be able to carry the battery considering the fact that she was stronger than the average person, or even average martial artist.

“It’s…” Yori trailed off, not sure what to say. It was too heavy and she doubted they would be able to get it out of there. If it took both of them to carry the thing, then they would have to exit down the hall, which would be the only thing wide enough for them to fit through. They would then have to worry about guards, cameras, and whatever else was there. “It’s much too heavy for us to safely leave with.”

Shego wagged her finger. “So says you, little girl. You probably should eat your spinach, so you can grow up big and strong like me,” she remarked, smiling like a demon since she felt like she came out ahead of the game now. 

Yori was not following the taunting completely. “It’s much heavier than it looks,” she insisted.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, heavy for your little arms maybe,” Shego said while yanking the power cell from the tabletop with little problem. “Whoa,” she muttered as she felt the weight under her arm, but held a handle on the item. Yori was not kidding, it was much heavier than it looked. _How the hell have scientists been moving this thing around the lab?_

“How?” Yori muttered before she realized it.

Shego snickered. “I got this.” She lifted the cell to show off.

The ninja could not believe her eyes and her mouth fell open for a moment as she watched Shego carry the battery, exiting the way that she came in. Yori followed Shego into the vent and they rapidly fled the building. _How can she carry that thing? How can she move so easily with it?_ Yori was impressed Shego could hold onto something that weighed so much and she carried it effortlessly. Yori considered she might have to completely reassess the pale woman.

Shego thought the same of Yori. After all, Yori had made it to the cell before her, even if she was not able to pick it up. Also, Yori had not been the one who let the guards know there was someone in the building who did not belong. Plus, Yori was not just keeping up with her on the getaway, but overtaking her on it. Sure, she could blame the fact that she had a heavy piece of hot equipment, but the competitor in her did not even think of that. She just pushed herself to keep up with the little ninja.

They made it to the hovercraft with no problem and got away before any of the good guys showed up. They went back to the lair in silence, mostly mulling over the facts that they learned on that first job. They both considered they might actually want to get to know each other. Maybe things were not as bad as they thought. Yori even conceded she might be able to learn something from Shego, like how to build more strength to carry something so heavy.

-8-8-8-8-

“Here’s your stupid battery,” Shego huffed as she and Yori walked into the lair.

Shego slammed the stolen item on the table for no other reason than to watch Drakken jump from the shock. He did not disappoint, hopping out of his seat in a panic when the noise echoed through the large room. The table surprisingly held up while Drakken fell to the floor, panting heavily, eyes wide with fear. The green-skinned woman smirked, looking rather amused by his reaction, which Yori noticed. She wondered if Shego had done that on purpose and if so, why? What purpose did it serve to scare their employer?

“It’s not a battery, Shego!” Drakken huffed as he stood up, brushed himself off, and walked over to the device. “It’s a…”

As Drakken began going into exactly what the omni-power cell was, Shego made a mocking, disinterested face and moved her hand to mimic his talking. The scientist understandably did not take kindly to that and hollered in frustration with his sidekick, stomping his foot as he glared at Shego. Shego snickered while Yori just stood back rather confused with the whole exchange. The ninja noted something odd, which was the fact that she wanted to laugh at Shego’s antics. Thankfully, she had enough discipline to avoid that. She would not anger her employer like Shego.

“Shego!” Drakken hollered, getting so worked up thanks to her that there was a vein throbbing from his forehead.

“Look, what it is and what it does, I don’t care,” Shego informed her boss. And then she added to it to see if it would get to Drakken. “And she doesn’t care either.” Shego pointed to Yori with both index fingers.

“But—” Drakken tried to start up again.

“Nope, still don’t care. You need us for anything else?” the pale villainess inquired.

Drakken’s face fell. “Uh… no…”

“Okay, we’re gone then,” Shego said, throwing an arm around Yori’s shoulders, almost as if they were buddies.

Yori looked down at the arm and wondered what to make of the action. Shego was a strange woman. Yori was not used to being touched, but especially like a friend. While Yori had few friends and was not the best at picking out the signs, she knew Shego was not her friend.

Shego wanted to be annoying, first and foremost, as that was just how she was. But, she also wanted get a hold of the ninja to make sure she did not disappear for a moment. She wanted to investigate something, which required Yori. She pulled the younger woman out of the main hall before Drakken could get into one of his typical rants.

“Um… Shego-san, that wasn’t very respectful,” Yori pointed out while trying not to tense over the fact that she did not like Shego’s arm around her shoulders. She was not used to such close contact without hitting being involved.

Shego pulled her closer. “Yeah, I know. If you’re gonna hang around here, kid, you gotta learn Doctor D’s here to sign checks and come up with goofy ideas, not to be respected,” she stated. She noticed how tense the ninja was against her. So, of course, Shego not only left her arm around Yori, but tried to pull her even closer.

Yori nodded slowly, as if she understood, but she did not really. Drakken would not be the first person to hire her who did not deserve any respect, but she had never seen anyone openly mock an employer like Shego did with Drakken. In fact, Yori was not sure if she had ever seen someone so openly rude like Shego was, except for maybe Fukushima and he was not even that way to most people.

“Um… Shego-san, I would like to apologize to you,” Yori said out of the blue. She figured she might as well get it out of the way. She was not so full of herself that she could not admit when she was wrong and it would make her feel better, as she felt quite horrid for prejudging the pale woman.

“Apologize to me?” Shego stopped and looked at the younger woman with her face scrunched up. It was not everyday someone apologized to her, not without a boot in the ass anyway. She did not even notice, but that statement got her to drop her arm from Yori’s shoulders.

Yori nodded. “Yes, I owe you an apology.”

An eyebrow arched. “For?” the villainess inquired.

“I believe I judged you most improperly. While I still do not agree with the way you took to carry out the mission and your seemingly laid back attitude toward the mission, you were the one who completed the assignment. I must apologize for such thinking and conclusions that were drawn before I saw you in action.” Yori bowed ever-so slightly.

Shego scoffed and waved that off. “Ah, don’t think anything of it.” She shrugged, not sure what else to do. She was so stunned she got an apology over what someone thought of her. Not many people apologized point blank, but especially over thoughts. She had done the same thing, anyway, not that she would be apologizing for it. What went on in her head was her own business until she decided to share, after all.

Yori nodded again. “I would like to know how you managed to lift that heavy thing.”

“Well, I’d like to know how you outran me, so it seems like we’re even with a secret a piece,” Shego remarked with a chuckle. She did not notice her comment and tone was damn near relaxed and not snippy.

“Um… I was wondering… from the way you carry yourself, I’m going to assume you’re a martial artist. Is that correct?” the ninja inquired. It would help explain how Shego escaped her heavily guarded route without a mark on her.

The green sidekick shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Yori took that information in. Okay, well, maybe that was a good way for her to get to know Shego, she thought. She could understand exactly what the oddly colored woman was capable of to avoid misjudging her again. It would help them work better on assignments. Besides, there was only so much she could do in practicing on her own and mediating.

“Um… would you like to spar with me?” Yori proposed, sounding almost shy. From what she could tell with Shego’s attitude, she was prepared to hear the answer of “go to Hell.” 

Shego considered the question. Maybe that would be a good idea. She could get a handle on the kid and figure out if she should take the so-called ninja seriously. She would be able to figure out if she was willing to put up with Yori.

“Yeah, sure,” Shego replied as if it was no big deal. “We’ll go do that now.”

Yori nodded and followed Shego to an open area in the lair, which was a rarely used gym. There were pieces of exercise equipment around the room that most of the henchmen never used. Shego was usually in there and was used to the deserted feel of the place. There was something of a boxing ring that probably had a colony of cobwebs in it. Well, they were about to change that. 

“Any rules or anything?” Shego inquired as they stepped over to the ring, which was really a couple of thin blue mats that were roped off from the rest of the gym. _Who the hell even did this?_ Since she did not know the henchmen that well, she could not think of any of them who might have wanted to pretend to box. She had no reason to do it, typically using the heavy bag or the treadmill.

“Well, it wouldn’t be wise for one of us to hurt the other too much. We might have to go out again sometime soon,” Yori pointed out.

“Kid, you’ll find it damn hard to hurt me,” Shego said, putting her chin in the air. The smirk on her face made it seem like her arrogance was talking.

“Shego-san, my name is not ‘kid.’ It is Yori,” the ninja commented for the second time that day.

“You want me to call you Yori, you’re going to have to make me,” Shego remarked with a taunting smile on her face.

Yori nodded and that was all, which stunned Shego. Once again, the younger woman offered up no argument for Shego to feed off. It was irksome for Shego and she planned to get a real rise out of Yori.

They prepared for the sparring match by simply stepping into the ring. They usually would have changed their clothing, but it seemed they were both still taking each other lightly. It was as if they believed the other could not force them to work up a sweat.

They turned to each other. Yori bowed to Shego, who only scoffed while putting her hands up. Shego went at Yori before she could stand up properly from her respectful bow. She put her hands up just in time to avoid being struck. Yori could hardly believe Shego’s speed.

“You need to pay attention, kid,” Shego remarked, still smiling like the cat that ate the canary.

“Shego-san, I am going to make you say my name,” Yori countered, smiling a bit her, but she did not know it. Yori had never interacted with someone like Shego and it seemed to be affecting her already.

“Promises, promises, kid. Just know I like it rough,” Shego remarked. Yori did not get it, which did not surprise Shego. What did surprise Shego was how quickly Yori came at her. She almost missed a block. Okay, maybe working with Yori would be interesting.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Shego and Yori start to get along.


	3. Her Way, My Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters.

3: Her Way, My Way 

While Doctor Drakken was busy tinkering with his new toy and “brilliant” scheme, Shego and Yori bonded through the one thing they had in common as far as they knew: fighting. They fought each other for long hours, every day for a couple of weeks without much else in between.

From their first sparring session, they were impressed with each other. They discovered they were both serious martial artists. They were creative fighters and constantly surprised each other. They could fight for hours, pause briefly for food and water, and pick it up right where they left off. It was something rare for both of them, not knowing many who could keep pace with them. It was a good doorway for them.

Fighting led to talking, but it was a bit of a struggle at first. Yori was naturally quiet. Shego had to goad Yori into going back and forth with her, trash-talking nonsense stop. Shego always had enough lip to go around, but there were times she thought she might strain her jaw around Yori. Then, one day she got the ninja to snap back. Shego was such a bad influence and she loved it.

“That was sloppy as hell, kid,” Shego said as she knocked Yori off balance and countered with a kick.

Yori scoffed. “You call that a kick? I have seen kittens with deadlier strikes,” she remarked as she put her forearm up to block Shego’s leg; see, the pale woman was a bad influence. The blow landed against her bare arm. She fought in a regular tank top and black sweat pants. 

Yori knew she had changed and she was surprised at how quick it happened. Hardly a week ago, Yori would have never thought to make such a statement, never would have thought to talk during a fight, even a sparring match. It was just that being around Shego seemed to have infected her. She was not used to the endless chatter Shego did throughout sparring and Shego seemed to somehow urge her to say something back. She had resisted the urge for a while, but now it tugged at her, pulling words out of her mouth and just egging Shego on to talk more. Shego was happy to finally get some conversation out of the younger woman.

If Yori was honest with herself, the talking felt good. It was enjoyable, funny, and made her feel a little light inside. It forced her to think, which was good, even if it was to say something bad. She knew her insults were tame compared to Shego, but it was still delightful in a sort of naughty way.

“Funny since I’ve seen kittens deadlier than you point blank,” Shego countered while pulling her leg back. She was dressed in a similar fashion with a green tank top and black sweat shorts.

Despite all of her talk, Shego was learning Yori could easily get the better of her in sparring. She did not use her powers much and she only did claw strikes when she was certain she would miss. She was not looking to really hurt Yori, much like Yori was not looking seriously hurt her. They had found a mutual respect for each other since their first job together and over the past few sparring sessions.

Shego found Yori was not anything like she had judged the young woman when they met. First of all, Yori was old enough to vote, not a junior high school student as she first assumed. Yori was going to be nineteen in a couple of months. Shego teased her about it. 

“But, then again, what should I expect from someone going to fifth grade next yet?” Shego said as she sidestepped a punch.

“I have told you, I am an adult,” Yori huffed. 

“Yeah, well, until I see some photo ID, I don’t believe it,” Shego replied.

“Says the woman whose behavior is often like that of a child.”

Shego snickered. Yeah, Yori had a lot of work to do on her smack-talking. She was quite the capable ninja, but she was a little naïve. Shego concluded that from Yori trying to dig into her while they were sparring. Beyond how basic her insults were, Shego could easily throw her off her game by throwing a little sexual innuendo at her. It had to simple sexual innuendo, but it worked every time. The ninja practically fell apart over some of the simplest remarks; well, they were simple in Shego’s opinion.

“Yet I continue to best you,” the younger woman commented, moving into a series of kick moves.

“You think I’m taking you seriously?” the green-skinned female countered with a laugh as she ducked and dodged each attack.

Yori was also learning Shego was not exactly like she thought. Now, she had recognized Shego was dangerous, in ways she would not have imagined. Those plasma powers of hers were incredible. The first time she saw Shego flare her hands, she was not sure what to think of it. She had seen quite a few things in her young life, yet she was still stuck in place for more time than recommended in a fight when Shego came at her with those flaming hands. For a long moment, she thought it was magic, but Shego assured her that was not the case. She had not gotten the chance to see the limit of what Shego could do with her powers and she really did not want to. She had felt the heat from the plasma once when Shego let her anger get the better of her during a match and that was enough for her.

Shego was an emotional creature, Yori noted. The longer they fought and the more she tagged the pale woman, the more Shego was likely to let her anger reign over her, which made her pretty easy to defeat as long as Yori could put in the time. She supposed it would be a different story if Shego was using her plasma powers, but thankfully, Shego never let her fury control her to the point she did use her powers full force. So, as emotional as the green-skinned woman might get, she never lost sight of the fact that they were not out to truly injure or harm each other. It would seem Shego had more control than her anger would leave most to believe. 

Other than that, Yori noted Shego was rude, but playful. The fact that her playfulness was starting to rub off did not go by Yori. She did not mind that. It was fun to do a little teasing and taunting, especially since Shego did not get upset with her for saying such things. After all, if she did such things at school, she would have been scolded and punished for such behavior by her teachers, regardless of who the words were directed at.

“You should take me seriously, Shego-san. You know that you cannot beat me,” the ninja boasted. Part of that was a taunt, but also partially the truth. In a sparring match, Yori generally won, but she suspected it was because Shego did not take the sparring as seriously as she would a real fight.

“Kid, you don’t know what I can do,” the thief remarked with a confident smirk.

Yori attacked Shego, looking to pin her. They decided whoever had the most pins at the end of day would be the winner. So far, winning a match did not amount to much, mostly because Yori had won most of them and it did not occur to her to claim something as the victor. It did not go by Shego that the ninja won most of their matches. It helped add to her respect for Yori. Besides, Shego liked to think she could win a match if she was taking it totally seriously, but it was rare for her to take anything completely serious unless the situation called for it. She just did not have it in her.

“My, my, Yori, if you wanted to get me on my back, all you had to do was ask,” Shego purred while resisting the pressure Yori pressed on her.

Yori understood that remark, mostly because Shego had gotten her to that point over the past few days. The purr helped her comprehend what the older woman was talking about. She wasted no time blushing, a crimson stain invading her cheeks. Her grip loosened and the tides were turned. Shego was able to push her to the mat. 

“Although, I like being on top more,” the thief commented with a scandalous smirk. She licked her top lip a bit, just to bother the ninja more.

Yori was not sure how to react and merely blushed more, her whole face now deep red. It was fun for Shego to make Yori blush and throw her out of her comfort zone, which was a mile wide. Shego thought it made the little ninja look rather cute, too, not that Yori needed help in that area considering the fact that she had underlying childish quality to her. She was adorable when she was not trying to kick Shego in the face. Hell, even if she was trying to kick Shego in the face if she was trying to come up with an insult at the same time. 

Yori could not figure out why she blushed so much when Shego said dirty things to her. While she did not get much of it, she had heard worse things, though not typically directed right at her. She just felt flustered in a way she never did before. She did not know how she was supposed to take such words, but her body knew that it should blush whenever Shego said such things to her.

“Is your silence consent?” Shego snickered.

“Shego-san.” Yori’s voice sounded like a whine for reasons she would never be able to explain.

Shego chuckled and let Yori up. They went back to their battle. They were getting into a rhythm with each other already, learning to read each other after a couple of weeks. But, that was what happened when people everyday, all day together, as they had been doing. They lacked better thing to do since Drakken did not seem to need them, locked in his lab and managing to keep to himself without blowing anything up. It was fine by them. They were having a good time taking each other on.

“Why are you running?” Yori inquired, trying to get Shego to come at her. She knew Shego was an offensive fighter, which she would have guessed just from the way Shego let her anger get the better of her during combat. The super-powered woman needed more patience in her opinion.

“Just looking for room to do this,” Shego replied and she surprised the ninja by leaping over her. 

Yori turned around just in time to see a pale leg coming at her. She put her hands up, but was hit in the chest. She fell back from the power in the kick. She suspected if Shego was really out to hurt her, she would have just broken several ribs with that. She was already very aware Shego was much stronger than the average human being, and even more powerful than the average ninja. Yori did not have time to think about that because Shego was on her, looking to pin her again.

“Got nothing to say now, huh?” Shego laughed.

“I let me body do the talking,” Yori replied.

Shego wiggled her eyebrows. “Oh, talk dirty to me.”

Yori grunted. She fell into the verbal traps much too easy. She would work on that. For now, she grabbed Shego’s leg, planning to take her feet out from under her. Shego leaped up, aiming to kick Yori in the face. Yori released the limb just in time to avoid its twin. 

By the end of the day, they were both covered in sweat and breathing quite hard. They sat on the mats and looking at each other. They both mentally went over the number of pins they had.

“You won,” Yori realized, pointing to Shego. It was not something the ninja was used to at all, not just against the older woman. Yori’s mind spun. She was not accustomed to losing, even a little friendly match. She hid it well, though. 

“I know I did. Well, since I won, I think I should get something,” the pale woman declared with an arrogant grin.

“Um… okay,” Yori conceded, not that she ever got anything for winning. “What do you want?” she asked as her stomach dropped a little. She had a feeling Shego was going to request something crazy.

Shego chuckled a bit, shaking her head as she laughed. Yori was quite the gracious and polite loser, which was expected. She was going to have to teach the kid to stand up for herself… to other people, not to her of course. Well, before that, she figured she would have some fun with the teen.

The thief looked up at Yori and smiled. It was an expression Yori was used to seeing and it made her gulp. It was a devilish expression. Shego’s eyes sparkled with mischief, like when she humiliated their employer. Yori’s stomach felt like it was in her feet now.

Shego got on all fours and crawled over to the ninja, making Yori very uneasy. The ninja backed up, which only tickled Shego on the inside. Yori’s anxiety grew when she felt the ropes at her back, cutting of her escape. She held her breath as Shego continued forward, stopping only when they were face to face, nearly nose to nose.

Yori was not too sure why she was holding her breath, but she supposed it was to prevent any accidents from happening. Although, she doubted it would be an accident as far as Shego was concerned. This did not seem playful like the other things and now she thought some of the other things might not be as playful as she took them. Yori was not too sure if Shego was always kidding around when she made come-on comments to her. Some part of her believed Shego was joking while another part of her thought Shego was serious. She was not sure what she thought about any of Shego’s behavior, even though her conscious mind insisted she did not like it at all.

“She-she-she-Shego-san,” Yori muttered through chattering teeth, for some reason hoping that would back the older woman up.

“Yes, little cherry blossom,” Shego hummed, getting a real kick out of how nervous she was making the ninja. The nickname had come to mind a couple of days ago when a pink blush covered Yori’s face and Shego thought it would help keep Yori distracted. She was right about that. 

“Um…” A lone bead of sweat rolled down the ninja’s cheek and it had nothing to do with the fact they had just sparred for several hours. She looked down at Shego, going almost cross-eyed since they were so close.

“You know, you should wear lip gloss,” Shego remarked with a laugh and she pulled away. 

Yori breathed a sigh of relief while some part of her brain was trying to insist that it knew Shego was not going to kiss her. That would just be weird, she thought. Well, maybe it would be weird, maybe not, some other part of her mind muttered. After all, girls kissed in some manga and it did not seem too weird there. Yori decided to stop thinking at that point because it seemed she losing her mind. If she was going crazy, she was going to blame all of the manga she read and spending time with Shego.

“Come on, you’re taking me shopping,” Shego said out of the blue.

“I’m what?” Yori asked as if she did not understand. Her mind was still fogged over from the teasing moments ago.

“Shopping. Get up, let’s go.” She tapped Yori on her thigh. 

The ninja blinked and shook her head. “Wait… like, regular shopping?”

“Yeah.” 

“No stealing or anything?”

“Nope. You buy me something for winning with money, cash or credit,” Shego remarked.

Yori was so stunned by the idea that it slipped her mind she did not have much money. The money that came from her contact went back to Yamanouchi and she was given an allowance to live on. She was just overwhelmed by the thought of going shopping, like a regular girl. She was actually eager to do such a thing. 

As a girl who practically grew up in a secret ninja school, she never really got to do regular girl things. She never really got to do regular things at all. The only reason she even knew about manga came from the fact that she got into it when she was very young thanks to her father. Her life had been mostly training and, lately it had been missions, sneaking around and doing things in the shadows, but nothing that most would consider normal for a teenager. 

She spent her life trying not to think about normal things. She liked her life. She was very aware it could have been worse. But, the idea of going shopping, she had to swallow down giddiness. She did not want to do anything odd and have Shego change her mind.

“Come on. Who knows when the mall closes. We need to get presentable,” Shego said and Yori nodded.

The duo went to go get cleaned up and dressed for their latest adventure. Shego was a little surprised to find she was ready first. She doubted Yori had tons of outfits to choose from for an outing. She had expected Yori to be waiting at her door like a little puppy, but that was not the case. She went to pick Yori up at her room. She went in with the lights on that time and it was her first time seeing Yori’s room situation.

Yori did not have anything at all in her room. It looked exactly the same from the day that the ninja showed up. It did not seem like a person even occupied the room.

“I’ve heard of Spartan, but this is ridiculous,” the pale woman muttered to herself. There was not even something that resembled a bed. _What the hell does this kid sleep on?_ There was no a pallet or sleeping bag or anything.

She looked around for Yori, but found the little ninja was not in there. It was then she remembered the room did not have a bathroom in it like her room did. Yori had to use one down the hall. Shego waited in the room for Yori, who showed up a few minutes later, completely dressed in street clothes, again looking much like a schoolgirl. 

“We need to be careful of you in the mall,” Shego said.

Yori’s face scrunched up. “Why?” 

“Uh… the whole Japanese schoolgirl thing is totally a fetish. Someone doesn’t make you dress like that, right?” Shego asked, quite serious.

Yori’s face turned bright red. “No! No one makes me dress this way. It is my choice.”

Shego laughed. “Oh, so it’s your weird fetish.” 

“It is not a weird fetish. These are perfectly acceptable clothes,” Yori huffed.

Shego laughed even more. “If you say so.”

Yori glared at Shego, who only thought it made Yori more adorable. They left the lair, not telling Drakken about it. Yori was going to say something, but she noticed Shego did whatever she wanted without telling Drakken. The ninja guessed he did not mind because he did not say anything about it. It was something else she was not accustomed to, being able to come and go as she pleased. It was a delightful bit of freedom and she enjoyed it.

-8-8-8-8- 

The mall was a little overwhelming for Yori. There were so many people and there was so much going on. It was like being on a street in a busy city, but different as well. She was not sure why. Sights, smells, and sounds. It was like being inside of living thing. Yori did not know what to do or where to go. Shego kept sight of her and directed her to some stores. 

It was not until Yori’s mind adjusted to the mall that she learned about Shego’s expensive taste in everything and the fact she could not afford anything the plasma-wielder wanted. That did not bother Shego. She was in a pretty good mood from winning the sparring match and watching Yori be cute. Yori was a bit disappointed in herself for not being able to keep her word. Shego noticed the defeated expression and the drop of the ninja’s shoulders.

“Hey, cheer up,” Shego said to the younger woman while throwing her arm around Yori’s shoulders.

The ninja’s heart sped up and a familiar blush rose to her cheeks as the limb settled around her. She still was not used to someone being so close to her without hitting her. Nor was she accustomed to the almost intimate maneuver, not many people were prone to touch her point blank for fear of losing their arms. Shego never seemed to think twice about being close to her whether they were fighting or not, though. It was not wholly unpleasant, she thought, even when Shego did it to tease her. Right now, she knew Shego was trying to comfort her, which was better.

“You could always steal me something nice,” Shego remarked, which did not help Yori’s demeanor at all. Shego felt the shoulders in her grip fall more. “You don’t like stealing, do you?” she inquired, even though that was kind of obvious.

Yori shook her head as an answer. She had no plans to talk about it, but her mouth started moving without her permission. She had never spoke on it to anyone aside from Master Sensei and she only talked about it once with him. He tried to ease her discomfort, but it persisted.

“I do not see the honor in taking something that is not yours just because someone has paid you to do it. It is not theirs either. It seems like all around wrong behavior,” Yori explained in a low tone, as if she was speaking a secret. Her eyes focused on the floor, never looking up to even see where she was going.

“Then why do you do it?” Shego asked.

“Well, my master tells me it is for the school’s survival and honor. I owe my existence to the school and it is my honor to see to it that the school continues on. It is the way of the ninja to do as the client asks without questioning, more than necessary anyway. We are here to serve and to get the job done… or so my master tells me,” Yori answered. The reality of a ninja was rather different from the many stories she had heard and read as a child. Still, she carried on and did not complain, even though her heart clenched and twisted in her chest every time she did something she knew was wrong. 

Shego nodded. “Sounds like you’re being asked to compromise your own beliefs for the sake of a dollar, which isn’t any way to live.” She did not believe anyone should compromise their beliefs for someone else.

“What do you mean?” Yori asked, having never heard such talk before.

“You can’t live your life for others, especially if they’re making you do things you don’t even like or they’re making you uncomfortable. It’s your life and you should live it how you wanna. You should live it the way you feel is right and a way that makes you proud and able to look at yourself in the mirror. You should never had to stop being you for anyone. That’s giving them more than they ever deserve. No one should get your soul.”

“But, I owe the school for giving me this life.”

“And if the school was worth anything, they wouldn’t ask you to live this life in a way you hate. If they cared about you at all, they wouldn’t ask you to compromise who you are.”

Yori did not understand, which Shego noted, so she kept trying to explain. Yori continued to counter her argument. Despite the fact that Yori said what she believed, that it was her honor to keep the school going for giving her the life that she had, she seemed to get more and more depressed as she spoke. Shego began to get depressed just from Yori’s dejected expression, manner, and tone. 

“I got an idea, kid. We’ll pick this conversation up later,” Shego said. She would rather hold on to her good mood for the moment. But, she definitely wanted to delve into Yori’s mind a little more. She seemed brainwashed a little bit and Shego was firmly against brainwashing in any form.

“But—” Yori tried to protest, feeling like she needed to get Shego to understand her. She never got a chance to say any of these things and it felt good to get them out in the air. But, the more she said the words, the more deflated she felt. Saying her reasons aloud helped her realized just how little she actually believed in her own argument because she could feel her words weighing on her like an adult African elephant, pressing her into insignificance. Maybe if she could just get Shego to see it from her end, then things would be better.

“It’s cool, calm down, cherry blossom. We’ll pick this up later. Right now, we’re going to do something fun,” Shego said with a devilish smile.

“Fun?” Yori echoed, her nervousness returning to her, not that it was ever far away thanks to Shego.

“Yeah, some fun.”

The older woman tugged Yori off, going into a nearby, trendy store. Yori found out that by “fun” Shego meant shopping, but not in the way they intended. They went to several clothing racks. 

“This’d look good on you. Go try it on.” Shego put items in Yori’s hands and then led her to the dressing room.

Yori managed to look at the price tags before Shego shut the fitting room door on her. “Shego-san, I cannot afford these.” 

“Don’t worry about that. Just try them on and come out here for me to see when you’re done,” Shego said.

Yori sighed, but did as ordered. When she came out of the room, Shego nodded and went to get more clothes. In the end, Shego paid for a few outfits and then led Yori to another store. Shego treated the Japanese woman to things, clothes and mostly things to decorate her barren room. Yori had never been on what could be considered a shopping spree and Shego could easily tell.

“Look, do you like this?” Shego inquired for what felt like the hundredth time and that was just for the one store that they were in. After barely a half-hour of shopping, she was pretty sure she had asked that question at least a trillion times.

“Well… it is pretty,” Yori commented, speaking about a shirt. It was just it was expensive and she could not afford it. She did not want Shego to buy anything for her and tried to protest each and every time.

“Fine, we’re getting it,” Shego said, yanking the shirt off the rack. She held it up to Yori and shook her head. They needed a smaller size, which she wasted no time in locating and grabbing. She wished brands all followed a uniform size. An “extra small” should be the same for everyone.

“Wait, Shego-san…” Yori tried to object, but Shego was not listening. Even though Yori put up quite the fuss over things, she was having a good time underneath the slight uneasy she felt from someone treating her to things. It was just all so new to the ninja and she was not sure what she was supposed to do.

Yori followed behind Shego as she started looking at other outfits. After buying some more clothing, they went looking for another store. They passed by a store that caught Yori by surprise and she stopped without thinking. Shego was running her mouth, but noticed she was talking to air almost immediately. She halted to see what happened to her companion and saw Yori standing in awe in front of a store. She backed up to see what had Yori’s attention.

“Oh, god, don’t tell me you like—” Shego did not even get a chance to finish. 

“Manga,” Yori whispered with awe. She was waiting for the clouds in the sky to part, shine a heavenly light on the store, and for the angels to start singing. She probably would have been drooling a puddle if she had just an ounce less of self-control. 

“Fine. Come on,” Shego said with a sigh, leading Yori into the store since she seemed to be stuck in place.

Yori stepped out of her shell a bit when they got into the store, which was covered in manga, anime videos, wall scrolls, posters, games, cards, figurines, and all other sorts of things. Yori started asking for things, even though Shego already made it clear that Yori could have whatever she wanted. The store proved to be the cure for whatever ailed Yori as she left the store with two bags full of junk in Shego’s opinion. The pale woman could not come right out and say that because Yori had the most adorable little smile on her face. She looked just like a happy kitten. Shego found herself enjoying the sight and having to actively hold back from caressing Yori.

When the pair returned to the lair, they went to Yori’s room. Shego looked around while Yori started taking out the things that they purchased. Shego then had a thought.

“Hey, small fry, don’t unpack just yet,” the plasma-wielder said.

Yori forehead wrinkled. “Huh?”

“Let’s get you a better room first,” Shego proposed. This room was for someone who was unwanted or unhelpful. Someone who needed to be out of the way and that was not Yori anymore.

“Better?”

Shego motioned for Yori to follow her and they walked down the hall to the elevator. They went upstairs and Shego presented Yori with a larger room with a better view of the ocean and her own bathroom. Yori looked in awe of the room, never having such a large space all to herself.

“Shego-san…” Yori was speechless.

The green-skinned thief put her hand up to stop whatever the teen might even try to say. “Don’t get all mushy on me, kid. We’ll get you a bed and everything tomorrow.”

Yori was still dumbstruck. Never had one person do so much for her, aside from Master Sensei. She really did not know how to react outwardly. Her mind and body had their own opinions on how to respond to the kindness being thrown her way. Her mind decided it liked the treatment being shown to her and her body just felt like liquid delight was flowing through it. This might very well be the best day of her life, after Master Sensei rescuing her anyway.

When Yori finally remembered how to talk, all she could say was, “Shego-san, you are doing way too much for me. I am not worthy.”

Shego waved it off, as if her actions were nothing. “First off, never say you’re not worthy of something nice. Just take the thing. As for this, don’t think anything of it. It’s nothing,” she said with a snort. She was just in a good mood, she told herself. Although, she was never in such a good mood that it made her spend her money like water on someone else. Even with Drakken, whom she had known way longer than Yori, he only got loans and those came with interest. But, he was not nearly as cute as Yori was when she was in awe of little things like comic books.

“Um… Shego-san… will we continue our conversation from earlier like you said?” Yori asked coyly, glancing away as she spoke because she felt a bit of guilt. Shego had already done so much for her that day and yet she felt like she was asking for more, even though she did not deserve what she got in her opinion.

Shego sighed and scratched the top of her head a bit. She had been hoping Yori forgot all about that little promise. The look in Yori’s onyx eyes told her that the younger woman honestly and truly wanted to talk. Hell, she probably needed to talk. Shego found herself in a position that would have been close to alien to her before today; she found she could not turn the ninja down.

“Yeah, sure. We’ll talk. Just not right now. Get comfortable in your new room, put up your posters—” Shego was cut off.

Yori corrected the older woman. “They are not posters. They are wall scrolls.”

“Whatever. Just do all that little stuff. If you’re serious about your comics or whatever, we’ll get you some shelves and things tomorrow with the bed. If you need anything, I’m right across the hall,” Shego informed her. She wanted to give Yori a moment to just chill out before diving into the deep end again.

“Okay, but they are manga, not comics,” Yori said. Comics were the little pictures in newspapers. Manga were diverse stories with amazing artwork.

Shego held in a chuckle, not wanting to give away that Yori was too cute, and rolled her eyes. “Whatever, nerd. Just put your stuff away and get to know your space.”

Yori nodded and thanked Shego for everything. Shego waved it off as if the whole thing was nothing and then exited the room, leaving most of the bags she carried on the floor. The ninja looked at the bags in her hands and smiled brightly, leaving the bare walls to witness her genuine happiness. What a great day, she thought as she started pulling out her wall scrolls and comic books.

-8-8-8-8- 

Next time: Drakken finds that he doesn’t like how close Shego is with Yori.


	4. Schooled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters. I don’t own iPods either.

4: Schooled

Shego lounged on her bed for lack of a better thing to do, sprawled out on top of the black spread in comfy pajamas. She had just cleaned herself up from spending the day out with Yori. She tried not to think about — she shuddered — how nice she had been to Yori. There was something about that kid that got to her and she did not understand why. She hated to think they bonded over a few sparring where the teen actually handed her her ass more often than not. Sure, she could put up more of a fight, but some days, she considered that might only delay Yori’s victory. 

 _I probably just feel sorry for the poor kid, like a kicked puppy or something_ , Shego tried to assure herself. It happened before. After all, she felt sorry for Drakken more often then not. What she felt for Yori was much different from what she felt for Drakken, though. She would never go out of her way like that with Drakken. Yeah, she might humor him on things to make him feel better, but she would never spend money on him to make him feel better. So, she guessed it was not that she felt sorry for Yori.

“There’s something there, though. What is it?” Shego wondered aloud.

She conceded what she felt was something that made her open to Yori in a way she never had been before. She was willing to accept Yori was in her life and she did not mind. Maybe it was because the ninja was impressive, but also she was rather green when it came to life. Yori was like the right mix of badass and wide-eyed, innocent rabbit, who did not know how to live exactly. Maybe that was some sort of curiosity, Shego considered… not that she was really curious of Yori.

“I’m something, though. She’s on my brain. I’m happy I corrupted her… somewhat corrupted anyway. I spent a fortune on her today. So, what the hell made me do it?”

There was something more to Yori than just the fact that she was a blank slate as far as doing any real living went. Whatever it was Shego took to it. It was something that made her not only be nice — for her anyway — to the ninja in many different ways, like shopping and talking about her life, but also seriously trying to help her get out of a mindset Shego did not think was healthy. _And we still gotta finish that talk_. It was almost like she cared, the thief thought.

But, Shego did not care about anyone. Hell, there were days when she was not sure she even cared about herself. Why would she subject herself to days upon days of Drakken if she really cared about herself? There was a part of that she refused to acknowledge at the moment that knew she was lying to herself about not caring.

“I must have lost my mind hanging out with Doctor D for all these years,” she concluded. It made sense and she had expected it to happen sooner or later. She was crazy. Simple as that. It was the only way she could explain her behavior toward Yori. Well, it was the only way she was willing to entertain at the moment.

She hated to think she actually liked having company that she could get along with and had all of her senses. It was not that she had anything against sane people or even the concept of having a friend. She just liked to think of herself as a lone wolf type and she did not need to have anybody around her. She had been like that since she walked out on her brothers. Still, she invited Yori into her life in a way and she was pretty sure the ninja was going to take her up on the offer. And she knew she was not going to fight it now that the ball was rolling.

“Why?” Shego muttered, wondering why she would to let Yori into her life suddenly. Why was Yori the one to break through her defenses?

She never had anyone really in her life since she left her brothers. She did not count Drakken since she was with him because of money. He more invited her into his life and she came and went as she pleased. With Yori things were going to be different because it would be Yori that could come and go as she pleased in and out of Shego’s life.

“Why?” the green-skinned woman asked the air again. _It’s not like I need someone to connect with or something stupid like that_. No, it was nothing like that, she promised herself. Maybe it was something like that, a part of her brain whispered and it was completely ignored.

-8-8-8-8-

Yori stood in her room, debating with herself if she should go to sleep or if she should go talk to Shego about the topic that they left hanging in the air when they were at the mall. Maybe she had pestered Shego enough for one day, she considered. After all, Shego had been very kind to her and she probably should just leave it at that, she told herself while looking around at her new room.

“I have been enough of a burden to her. She has done more for me than any person outside of school,” Yori said. She felt like saying it out loud would make her believe it, stop her from daring to yearn for more. Shego had gone well beyond what she needed.

The room was bigger than the other room that she had been given her first day. It had a beautiful view, which the other room lacked, considering there were no windows. There was a huge bathroom and a large walk-in closet, which she could fill up thanks to all of the clothing that Shego bought her earlier. The closet was actually bigger than her room back at Yamanouchi.

“It’s like she rewarded me for losing,” Yori mumbled and then laughed a bit. It was actually more of a bribe to get her to stop being depressed.

She really did not want to trouble Shego anymore. She knew the plasma-wielder had little patience and it was quite possible she had gone through all that Shego had for her. She did not want to press her luck and then end up pushing the older woman away now that she felt like they connected in some way.

Yori had liked talking about things and getting them off her chest. It was not something she was accustomed to doing and she found it enlightening, uplifting even. It left like a physical weight was lifted off of her. She liked that Shego listened to her and countered her with things she had never heard before, never considered before. Shego treated her in a way that no one ever had, including the one person in her life who treated her like a human being rather than a tool, Ron Stoppable.

Ever since her parents died, Yori was used to being a thing to people. Even as a ninja, she knew she was merely a tool for someone to use if they could afford her services. Ron came along and treated her more like a friend once he got to know her. She liked to think he was her very first friend and he taught her what friendship was. Still, the notion of his friendship seemed different from what she was experiencing with Shego. Yori decided to mentally compare the two since Ron was now on her mind.

“Analysis might help me better understand Shego to avoid becoming a pest to her,” Yori mumbled as she set up her bedroll. She did not sleep on it, but used it as a decoy. She still was not sure if she was going to go to sleep, though.

Ron treated her like a human and he was nice to her, more so than Shego, Yori would say. After all, he did not seem to get enjoyment out of making her uneasy. He did not tease her with sexual innuendo. He did invade her personal space at times, but she knew he was not doing it in the same way Shego did. He did not make her uncomfortable at all like Shego did either, but then again, she was starting to think that it was a good kind of uncomfortable, which was a puzzle in and of itself. Ron did not offer up serious conversation like Shego had, which Yori seemed to need and she now recognized that. She never figured out so much weighed on her until she started debating with the plasma-wielder earlier.

“I thought I was quite settled into my life. I am grateful for everything, which was possible through my school. Why should I not live my life for the school?” Yori sighed. “But, why should they get my soul as well? Why should they get all that I am?” The question would have never entered her mind were it not for Shego.

The ninja never considered how much her life might bother her until she started discussing things with Shego. Before the pale woman, she had been able to lie to herself and to convince herself that even if she was doing the wrong thing, she was still upholding her honor by upholding the integrity of her school. Now that she talked it over, even just a little bit, there were some kinks appearing in her armor and she just wanted to chat about it some more. Maybe she could be able to soothe and calm the rustling in her soul that was stirred up from thinking about her life.

“I think… I think I will go see if she still wants to talk,” Yori decided.

The ninja changed into her pajamas before going to see Shego. The pajamas were just plain cream-colored thin cotton pants and a tank-top. Shego purchased them for her after waiting her stand in front of them, staring for a minute straight. She liked wearing light colors when she could, which was almost never. On missions she had to wear dark clothing, even when she was supposed to be some place safe. It was nice for a change, even if it was a small change.

She doubted most people would understand, but her casual clothing was one of the few things she had a say in as far as her life went. _Maybe I was considering Shego’s words before she even said anything_. She then went across the hall to Shego’s room. She knocked lightly, almost shyly, on the door.

“Yeah, come on in, Cherry Blossom,” Shego called, expecting Yori. Besides, between the three people in the lair, she knew only Yori would bother with knocking. Drakken did not have the manners to know how to enter a room.

“Shego-san, my name is Yori,” the ninja sighed as she came into the room, shaking her head. Despite the fact that she corrected the thief, she was doing her nickname justice because of the pink tint to her cheeks. There was also something underneath it all, deep inside of her, that liked having a somewhat harmless nickname.

The emerald-eyed female waved the teen off. She stood in front of her closet, just wasting time going through her clothing. Yori sighed, knowing the wave meant the nicknames would continue on. Well, maybe she would stop blushing as time went by and Shego continued using them or maybe Shego would get bored with the practice.

Yori looked around the room and was not surprised by the colors covering the place. Shego’s had a deep green carpet down with mint green walls and all black furniture. There was a vanity against the wall, a television opposite the bed, and nightstand next to the bed. On the nightstand was Shego’s iPod and a laptop computer. There was a classical painting on the wall; it was a rare Rembrandt that Shego stole a long time ago and could not bear to part with. That was actually the most decadent thing in the room, which surprised Yori considering how Shego acted at the mall.

“You can sit on the bed if you want. I don’t have much in the way of chairs since I’m the only one in here most of the time,” Shego explained as she flopped down on her bed, crumpling the black spread on it.

Yori nodded, but hesitant a bit. Shego yanked the teen down to her since she seemed so indecisive about things. The ninja bounced a little as she hit the mattress, which did not make a sound from the added weight. Shego doubted she would have felt the impact of Yori falling on the bed if she was not so close to the lightweight. The younger woman landed on Shego after she bounced.

Shego went stiff for a moment, which did not go by Yori. She wondered why the older woman tensed and then she noticed her hand on something squishy. Yori’s eyebrows curled up as she wondered what the soft cushion was that her hand landed on. She glanced down and a blush rose from the base of her neck to the roots of her hair. She squeaked like a surprised mouse and quickly pulled away from the thief. Yori retreated to the edge of the bed, looking away from embarrassment.

“I’m sorry!” the ninja yelped.

Shego chuckled, finding it hard to be upset with Yori when she had that sheepish look on her face. “Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t wholly unpleasant on my end, after all. If you wanted to cop a feel, all you have to do was ask,” she remarked with a smirk.

Yori made a high-pitched noise and she flushed a deeper red; she looked like she was a tomato. Shego could not help laughing more, especially when it looked like Yori wished she could just disappear. Hell, the ninja was considering doing that after making such an ass of herself and groping Shego. Yori was too much, the plasma-wielder thought.

“So, where were we?” Shego inquired, knowing why Yori was there.

Yori sighed in relief, knowing the joke at her expense was over. She hoped her blush would finally abandon her. It slowly worked its way from her face and her heart rate calmed down. She had not even realized her heart sped up until now. She could not figure out why that was and decided against dwelling on it. Once she felt absolutely normal, she felt safe in looking at Shego.

Shego looked somewhat serious as she went to lean back on the headboard of her bed. She tried to look indifferent more for herself than Yori because she wanted to believe she did not care. Something inside of her was not allowing her usual nonchalant attitude to take over, as if reminding her not only was Yori not Drakken, but that there was more to her feelings toward the ninja than she was willing to acknowledge. _Look, it’s just that I don’t like brainwashing and that’s it_. That did not _feel_ like it, though.

“I was arguing that my honor is the school’s honor,” Yori pointed out as she moved away from the edge of the bed. She set herself up, sitting her with her legs folded underneath her.

Shego scoffed and it transformed into a laugh. “Right, that nonsense. Look, kid, if your school held any love for you at all, they wouldn’t ask you to compromise who you are just to bring in the money. That’s giving them your soul and they don’t deserve it. They don’t have the right to expect it from you either.”

“Well, what about you? You do these things for money. Do you believe in them or have you given Drakken your soul?” the teen inquired in a curious tone. She could not see how someone could believe and be fine with taking things that did not belong to her, especially without any sort of justification.

Shego laughed. “Drakken, my soul? Funny. No. He couldn’t know what to do with a soul.”

“So, you believe in these things? You believe it is fine to do the wrong thing?” If so, Shego did not have a conscience and Yori did not believe that to be true.

Shego shrugged, her usual nature finally coming out and she relaxed a little about things. “I believe in a good time. I’m out for a good time. Life is here to be enjoyed. I’m enjoying it. You, on the other hand, are being burdened by it and that’s no way to live. That’s not even living and we all have a right to live.”

“Even if it hurts someone?”

“Okay, no, we don’t have a right to that. You should be able to do what you want, though. It’s your life.”

“But, if I were to turn my back on my school, what kind of person would that make me? My master took me in, clothed me, fed me, and taught me all that I know. He pulled me from Hell, saved me from terror. I owe him,” Yori argued wholeheartedly, her expression making it quite clear that she truly believed in that.

“And for him to ask this of you, to ask you to compromise yourself, makes him an asshole. He’s brainwashed you, making you think you owe him something when you don’t owe him a damn thing. He’s the one that chose to do all those things for you. You didn’t make him do it and you didn’t know you’d be paying him back for the essentials of life. It’s what we professional people call bullshit,” Shego said rather bluntly.

Shego was actually pained to hear Yori talk. She really hated to see people getting mind-fucked and someone did a number on Yori, the old fashioned way. People should be allowed to make up their own minds and do what they wanted, whether it was the right thing or the wrong thing. She was a firm believer of “it’s your life, live it the way you want to.” Yori was being bullied into doing the wrong thing rather than choosing it, being made to think she owed someone because that person helped her as a child, and that made it worse to Shego.

Shego had been shoved into a life she did not want. She had gone through that with her older brother before she had ever truly been mind-controlled by some piece of technology through Drakken. At least her older brother not forced her to do the wrong thing or something she did not wholly agree with. Still, his behavior, his bullying, his guilt trips first acquainted her to brainwashing.

Shego was a rare breed in the instance that she knew firsthand about psychological mind-control and technological mind-control. Psychological was worse in her opinion because it did not just go away when the chip was removed. It took hard work to get away from psychological mind-control and she was not even sure if she had totally gotten over the hold her brother used to have on her. At least Yori had taken the first step, even if it was by accident, she had gotten away from the person messing with her mind. In Shego’s opinion, distance was the first step in breaking the chain. Realization would soon come, especially if she continued to work with Yori, or so she believed. Or was it hoped? 

Shego scratched her chin. _Is that it?_ Did she see some of herself in Yori? Was that why she was acting the way that she was? At the moment, it did not even matter to her. She needed to help Yori realize her life was her own and she did not owe it to anyone, no matter what.

“Bullshit?” Yori echoed, squinting, head cocked to the side as she stared at Shego. She had never heard the word; at least, she never heard it in English. 

Shego giggled. “It’s cute when you say it. I gotta make a note to get you to swear more often.” Not that Yori needed any help being cute.

“How can you say these things, though? I mean, this man—” Yori started, but the older woman cut in.

“Yeah, I know, brought you up and put you down, whatever. Like I said, if he really cared about you, he wouldn’t be asking you to do things you don’t like. He wouldn’t force you into certain situations. For him to do this, it means he’s just using you, even if you don’t think so. And he has been since you were a kid. He found a stray puppy and knew he could raise an attack dog that wouldn’t bite the hand that feeds it, even if he starved it every now and then,” Shego argued.

Yori’s mouth dropped open as a gasp escaped her. “He does not think I am a dog.” It sounded so bad when Shego put that way, she thought.

“That’s what he thinks you are. You’re just something for him to use. Yeah, I’m sure he tells you all the right words and reminds you all he did for you, but you’re still just a tool for him. Something he doesn’t even care about since he never takes your feelings into consideration by asking you to do something that you don’t want, or might not know if you want to do,” the pale woman continued on. She had been a tool for Hego, something to further his cause. It did not matter what she wanted, regardless of how many times she told him. _I love how my college education was trivial to that big idiot_.

Yori’s mouth trembled and she had to take a deep breath before she could trust herself to speak. “Shego-san, it is not like that.” Her words still shook.

Shego gave her a hard stare, as if looking through her. “It is like that. I know assholes like this. I’m related to one for crying out loud!” She did not mean to sound so passionate. It just came out. It was one thing to think she cared, but to practically show it was another matter. Maybe she never realized how much the subject bothered her.

Most people would be surprised to see the effort Shego was putting forth to get through to Yori, Shego included. She would sit there and argue all night if necessary to make a dent in Yori’s head and it seemed like she might. Yori defended Master Sensei whenever she could and used the same argument of how he saved her and how much she owed him. It was like Yori was not listening to anything she said, even though she had a feeling the younger woman was taking in her words just like she was taking something away from arguing her point. Yori needed time to reflect. Maybe they both did.

“You know what, Cherry Blossom?” Shego said in a tone that did not fit the argument. She sounded bored.

Yori’s face screwed up. “What?”

“This.”

Shego slapped Yori in the face with a pillow. The ninja was taken by surprise and fell to the side on the bed. As Yori was getting up, Shego smacked her again with the pillow. Yori figured out the discussion was over for the night. 

“What’re you doing?” Yori asked, trying not to laugh as Shego pummeled her with the downy soft weapon.

“I’m beating some sense into you, what does it look like?” Shego replied with a laugh.

The ninja crawled around the bed to grab her own weapon and then it was on. The pair went back and forth knocking each other around with the pillows. The odd sound of gleeful laughter filled the room, but no one was around to hear it.

-*-(Next Morning)-*-

“Shego!” Drakken called as he brazenly walked into her bedroom. He hardly made it two steps in before he was halted by quite the curious sight, which was Yori sleeping in Shego’s bed.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Doctor D. What’ve I told you about just coming in here without knocking?” Shego inquired as she came out of the bathroom, robe around her body and towel around her head. She marched right over to him. _With his mother, I could totally believe he was raised by wolves_.

“Shego, what’s going on?” the cerulean scientist inquired, his forehead wrinkled and his mouth pulled to one side. His eyes were locked on the sleeping ninja, even as Shego was turning him around to get him out of her room.

“Ah, we had a little slumber party. Turns out pillow fights are her weakness,” Shego remarked with a chuckle while ushering her boss out of the room. 

Drakken was about to say something else, but Shego shut the door in his face. She turned around and shook her head at the sight of Yori, knocked out on the bed. She guessed between the debate and the pillow fight last night, Yori was done. The teen had fallen asleep on her bed last night during a lull in the pillow fight when they were supposed to watch a movie. Shego left her there since Yori did not have a bed anyway.

“You probably think a bed is decadent. I don’t even know what you might think of those Egyptian cotton sheets,” Shego muttered. With the way Yori was laid out in the bed, Shego was worried the ninja had never slept in one in her life. She would let the younger woman enjoy her bed for as long as she could.

Shego went to get dressed before waking the ninja up. She tried tapping Yori, at first, figuring someone like Yori slept light. Turned out, she was wrong. Yori turned over, burying her head in the other side of the pillow. Shego smiled and shook her head.

“When was the last time this kid got a chance to sleep in or lap up some luxury? This is such a shame.” Shego sighed. It was almost sad to wake her, but it had to be done.

Shego shook Yori like she needed her brain rattled and that made Yori shoot up like a foghorn was blown. Her eyes were wide and her body tensed, but she had enough awareness to push Shego back and put her fists up. Beside having her hands up, ready to box, Yori blinked several times. She appeared to be disorientated as she sat up all the way up, looking around to figure out where she was.

Yori tried her best to take in her whereabouts. What the hell was going on? She did not recall falling asleep and worst yet was that she had slept so hard. She was pretty drained thanks to last night and being on Shego’s bed was like being on a cloud.

“Shego-san, what happened?” Yori asked while rubbing her forehead.

“Time to get up, Cherry Blossom,” Shego replied, trying to assure herself that Yori was not cute when she woke up. Her mind was not buying it.

“Get up? What time is it?” the ninja asked and then she yawned, making sure to cover her mouth to mind her manners.

“Ten-thirty,” the pale woman answered.

Yori’s eyes went wide. “Ten-thirty? I have never slept so long in my life. Wait, why am I in your room?”

“You fell asleep in my bed, leaving me to watch the movie by myself.” 

Yori’s face twitched a bit as she remembered they were supposed to watch a movie. She was now disappointed she had fallen asleep. She did not get to watch movies every often and the one that was on seemed good. She was also a bit disappointed because she had left Shego after she agreed to watch the movie with her. Yori felt like she had broken her word because she fell asleep.

“Oh, I am sorry,” the ninja apologized, eyes drifting to the bedding. 

“It’s cool. It happens during slumber parties.”

Yori’s brow furrowed. “Slumber party?” She had never been to one, of course.

“That’s usually what it’s called when friends fall asleep at each other’s place. It’s not a big deal. Now, come on, get up. We’ll get some breakfast, do a little sparring, and then go see about getting you a bed of your own,” Shego proposed.

“Shego-san…”

“Talking ain’t moving nothing but your lips and that’s not getting us closer to pancakes,” the super-powered woman remarked. 

“Pancakes?” Yori echoed, her face suddenly interested.

“Yeah, we’re going out for pancakes. So, come on.” 

Yori nodded, in total agreement with that plan. She guessed she had not used up all of Shego’s patience yet, which surprised her considering their debate last night. She was quite pleased to know she was still on Shego’s good side. She enjoyed being around Shego and hoped to continue it for a long time. _She called us friends_. The thought made Yori feel weird, giddy inside almost, which was not something she was used to. She hopped out of the bed and trotted across the hall to her room, not wanting to keep Shego waiting. She took a quick shower and threw on her own street clothes.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego watched Yori leave. _Maybe I’ll get her some of these sheets, too_. As soon as the thought finished, she shook her head. Where did that come from? She paused and considered her behavior toward Yori again, but she decided to let it go. What did it matter? She was having a good time hanging out with Yori and that was what life was all about.

“Life is here to be enjoyed,” Shego reminded herself as she went to go pick up Yori for them to go have breakfast, and probably do a lot more with their day afterwards. She knocked.

“You may enter,” Yori said.

Shego snickered and shook her head. “I’m going to skip over how formal you are and be happy you don’t look like a schoolgirl today.”

A blush stained Yori’s cheeks and she looked down at herself. “Thank you for your generosity.”

Shego shook her head. “Okay, maybe I will work on how formal you are. Come on, kid.” The pair were headed out when they ran into Drakken.

“Where are you two going?” the scientist inquired with a curious expression on his face.

“Out to breakfast,” Shego answered in a flippant tone, sort of implying it was none of his business.

“We’re going to have pancakes,” Yori informed him with a small smile and her eyes sparkled. The expression was more because she was going to be out with Shego than because of what they were about to do.

“I like pancakes,” Drakken muttered, pouting a bit. He seemed to forget he wanted to talk to Shego earlier now that his two employees were talking about going out for pancakes without him.

“Yeah, so, unless you need us for something, and even if you do, keep it to yourself until we get back,” Shego replied.

Drakken was at a lost, not sure what to make of things. He could not recall ever seeing Shego hang out with someone like she seemed to be doing right now. It seemed bizarre to him, plus he was a bit hurt they had not invited him for breakfast after he volunteered the information that he liked pancakes. Why were they not inviting him after he told them right out he liked pancakes?

While the sky-colored scientist stood there dumbfounded, Shego grabbed Yori and they continued on their way. Drakken’s expression fell, his jaw pretty much on the floor, as he was left looking at their backs. He looked like someone kicked Commodore Puddles right in front of his face. His eyebrows curled upward and his bottom lip trembled slightly, as if he was going to burst into tears at any second.

“I like pancakes…” he mumbled again, sounding just as crushed as he looked.

What in the world was going on? Shego was acting all buddy-buddy with the new kid, which Drakken thought was strange. She had never been so friendly with the other henchmen. She was never so friendly to him. After all, she never took him out for pancakes.

And then there was the fact that Yori slept in Shego’s bed. Drakken was not sure what to make of that, but decided to believe Shego’s story of a slumber party because he did not have anything else to go by. Still, the point was that Shego was getting really close to Yori and she paid Yori more attention than she paid him. He did not like that.

What if Shego started hanging out with Yori all the time? Then, she probably would not go out to do karaoke with him or anything like that. He did not want things to come to that. He was starting to miss when it was just him, Shego, and the lazy henchmen. He did not have to worry about Shego doing anything them, except for maybe her beating up the henchmen when they did something she did not like. Back then, he could talk to Shego whenever he wanted and did not have to worry about her running off with another employee like she was doing now. He desired things to go back to how they used to be.

The scientist wanted to brag to Shego that he was moving along quickly with his weather machine and soon he would be able to make it rain his mind-control shampoo on an unsuspecting population. Part of the fun of building things was boasting to Shego along the way. How was he supposed to do his usual bragging if Shego was out with Yori? He guessed he was going to have to get them when they came back in, which took a several long hours.

“Shego,” Drakken called, trotting up to the two ladies as they came in.

“Not now, Doctor D. Gotta go work off the breakfast,” Shego commented, even though she supposed they had already worked off breakfast. Well, there was always the late lunch they had they could work off. Any excuse to hit the gym and escape Drakken. They had a pretty big meal after finding Yori some furniture, including a bed, just a futon, which Shego let go since Yori seemed to really want it. She made sure to get a great mattress for it, pillows, and bedding. All of which was delivered to the lair thanks to the company being a subsidiary of Hench Co.

“But—” he tried to protest, but his sidekick interjected.

“Not now,” she repeated, holding her hand up to him.

Shego and Yori continued on walking and headed right for the gym. Drakken was left in their wake. His face dropped and he whimpered sorrowfully, poking out his lower lip. His expression and the noise failed to attract any attention, which cut him even deeper. That ninja girl was stealing Shego away from him.

Drakken frowned at the thought of losing Sheo. Who was he supposed to talk to and brag to if Shego was not around, especially since all his other henchmen were gone? Shego was supposed to be there for him and only him. He instantly got an idea, which he decided to share with Shego. Well, after her workout. He knew it was never a good idea to interrupt her in the gym. That took another few hours.

The scientist caught his sidekick as she and Yori were coming out of the gym late that evening. He stopped Shego, who told Yori to go ahead without her since they were only heading to their rooms to take showers. They could met up after. He scowled as the ninja walked off. Shego turned her attention Drakken while wiping sweat from the side of her head. 

“What’s up, Doctor D?” Shego inquired, breathing somewhat hard because of the intense workout she had just gone through. _That kid might be the death of me before a certain perfect little redhead does me in or Doctor D accidentally kills us all_.

“I’m starting to think that hiring the ninja girl wasn’t the right thing to do,” Drakken mused aloud. 

“What do you mean? She pulled her weight on the one job you gave her,” Shego pointed out. She did not think there was much for him to judge hiring Yori being a “mistake.” They had done one job over two weeks ago and that had gone fine, so if anything, he should be all right with Yori.

Drakken scoffed, waving that off. “I’m sure you could’ve done that one on your own.”

Shego shrugged. She could have done it on her own, but that was neither here nor there to her. “You can’t fire the kid for not working out when you haven’t given her anything to do to see if she will work out.” 

“I don’t think we need more than one of you. I mean, the henchmen did… stuff,” he argued.

“The henchmen picked their noses and dug up their butts, if you want to call that stuff feel free. It wasn’t worth a paycheck, though. Don’t compare their bull-crap to her. She could wipe the floor with all your so-called henchmen if they were still here,” Shego countered, glaring at him. She did not notice she got so worked up, but if he kept talking nonsense, she might have to shut him up in a way he would not like.

“Well, I still don’t think it’s necessary to have someone just like you around,” he commented.

“She’s not just like me and you can’t say it’s not necessary to have her around until she’s proven that. You kept your stupid hench-goons on for years when all that did was sit around getting fatter. So, just give the kid a chance.”

“I think I’m going to cancel the contract and send her back.”

That idea did not sit well with the emerald-eyed thief and he seemed stuck on it. He would be sending Yori back to that school that used her and messed with her mind so badly she was willing to do anything for it. The kid did not deserve that. Yori needed to stay away from Yamanouchi for as long as possible and to realize her life was her to live as she desired. Shego would not stand for Yori going back and being manipulated anymore.

Besides, Shego liked having Yori around so far. She had someone to tease in a different way than Drakken, someone to hang out with doing things she liked to do, and someone that she could surprisingly talk to. She was not about to let Drakken blow that for her or cost Yori the little bit of freedom she now had thanks to her contract.

Shego snarled and grabbed Drakken by the collar within a split second of him informing her of his plan. She shoved him against the wall, scaring the crap out of him. He whimpered as his back smacked against the cold wall and she got in his face. She held up her other hand in a flexed position and it was covered in a familiar glow. He trembled, seeing the fierce look in her eye, letting him know she was being completely serious in her treatment of him.

“Listen carefully. You’re not firing Yori. She’s sticking around and you’re going to get used to her, got it?” she demanded with a deep scowl, slamming his back against the wall.

“Yes’m,” Drakken squeaked, his eyes wide and his mouth in a full pout, his bottom lip sticking out and shaking. He looked like a child who feared he was about to get a spanking and he was hoping his expression would gain him some sympathy to avoid his punishment.

Shego banged his back on the wall once more just for good measure. She then walked off while he slid to the floor. Tears welled up in his eyes and he sniffled, trying to keep them at bay. His heart was in his throat and he was happy he was able to control his bladder or he would be sitting in a puddle. He guessed he was going to have to get used to having Yori around or at least have a good reason to fire her. With that in mind, he decided he would join the duo on the next caper that he sent them on.

He went back to building his weather machine while Shego and Yori continued on hanging out. He got around to mostly finishing the machine before he had to send his two employees out again for a major necessity to the device. He shocked them when he told them that he was going along.

“Is that safe?” Yori asked Shego.

“Ah, we won’t be able to stop him if that’s what he wants to do. It’s all right. We’ll keep an eye on him and keep him out of trouble. What’re we going after, anyway?” Shego inquired, turning her attention to Drakken.

“Uh, don’t worry about it. I’ll get it when we get in,” he replied. 

“What the hell? Just tell us in case we see it,” Shego argued.

“No, no, no. I’ll get it,” Drakken insisted.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Yori asked, her hand on Shego’s bicep. 

“Good idea? No. But, nothing with him ever is,” Shego quipped with a shrug. “Doctor D, just tell us what the hell the thing is and we’ll go get it.”

“No! I wanna come!” Drakken stomped his foot and made tight fists with his tiny hands.

“And I wanna punch you in the mouth right now, but apparently one of us has to be the adult here,” Shego remarked. “I’m starting think I might volunteer Yori for that job just for the excuse to whack you one."

“I’m coming and that’s that,” Drakken insisted with a nod. He got his way by not telling them what they needed to steal.

The trio marched out to the hovercraft and were on their way. Well they tried to be on their way. Shego seat in the pilot seat and Yori took the spot next to her, which prompted another tantrum from Drakken. Just to shut him up, the ninja went to sit in the back. They took off into the dark after that. Drakken had a smug look on his face.

Shego frowned as she flew the craft, even though she was used to dragging Drakken along for jobs. It was just she would rather her and Yori get in and get out since they were the professionals. It would give her a chance to see what Yori was capable of on the job and also talk to her about her feelings to see if she could deprogram the kid.

There was also the fact that Drakken was acting like a brat. Shego was not in the mood to deal with that. There was a chance he might blow the whole operation, which was a given with Drakken anyway.

Yori was not sure what to make of Drakken coming along, but she hoped he did not ruin things for them and he had better not get them caught. It seemed like something he would do since he was acting like a five-year-old. Yori figured Shego was with her from the sour expression on the older woman’s face. But, she also figured Shego would handle it since Shego seemed to know how to handle him.

The break-in was smooth since Yori and Shego agreed on how to go in and how to move. They had to go with an easy and unguarded route since Drakken was with them. They entered the lab and the scientist began looking through everything on the shelves. Everything was going well until they all heard a familiar voice.

“Hold it right there,” Kim Possible told the trio.

“Yeah, what she said,” Ron concurred, stick in an open window that his pants were snagged on.

Yori’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, no,” she muttered.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: How does Yori get out of this mess?


	5. What is Fate’s Deal?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters.

5: What is Fate’s Deal?

“Kim Possible?” Drakken hollered in disbelief as the redheaded hero showed up to ruin his plans yet again. 

“Why do you say that like you’re surprised she’s here?” Shego inquired with a huff. He should know by now that the little busybody showing up was inevitable. It was part of the fun of the job. She smirked at Kim, who smirked back.

Shego was ready to throw down, but she noticed Yori was not. Yori’s stance seemed to indicate she was more ready to flee the scene or shrink out of existence. Taking a closer look, Yori was actually shaking, like she was scared.

Shego wondered why Yori was afraid. Yori was a well-trained ninja with combat skills that would probably make some armies flee in terror. So, she should not be scared, in Shego’s opinion. It was probably because Kim was a hero and Yori’s good nature would not allow her to hurt a hero right away. Not to mention they got caught doing the wrong thing and Yori hated the idea of being caught. She figured Yori just needed a push in the right direction to help her get started. She believed as soon as she got Yori into the flow of things, then the ninja would be all right.

“Kid, you get the buffoon. I’ve got Kimmie,” Shego declared. Stoppable should be easy for Yori to take down.

Yori gulped since Shego wanted her to go after Ron. She was glad she wore her black mask and Shego had used one of her many nicknames, so Ron and Kim could not tell it was her, but there was no way she would be able to fight Ron. Thankfully, he was currently caught on the windowsill by his pants, so she did not have to attempt to go at him. But, she doubted he would be stuck there forever. She hoped their employer hurried up and got what he needed before Ron figured out his belt loop was caught in between loose bits in the window. 

“What, you guys got some new lowlife working with you?” Kim asked Shego while dodging a flaming claw strike. She was referring to the person clad in all black, which happened to be Yori. The words stabbed Yori in the gut.

“The kid would mop the floor with you,” Shego countered proudly, blocking a punch from the hero. She moved in, trying for another claw move.

“Oh, you mean like I always do with you?” the redhead remarked as she caught Shego by the arm and used her forward momentum to fling her across lab.

The plasma-wielder slid across the marble countertop in the room, clearing it of a few vials. She hit the floor with a yelp, flailing her arms as she went down. Her ninja partner gasped, forgetting about how tough the pale woman was.

“Shego-san,” Yori accidentally called out, worried the super-powered woman was hurt. She knew from sparring with Shego it would take a lot more than one throw to injure the sidekick, but still, her heart leaped into her throat seeing Shego take that spill.

“I’m fine. Get the buffoon,” Shego replied as she climbed to her feet and pointed at the blond sidekick. She then dashed back at Kim with a smirk on her face and her hands lit up.

“That voice sounded familiar,” Ron mumbled, now intrigued by the third person in Drakken’s party. He was still stuck in the window; damn baggy pants, he thought. Rufus tried to help him and nodded in agreement that the voice did sound familiar.

“Ron, stop Drakken!” Kim called, continuing to tangle with Shego. She noticed Drakken was going through items on the shelves like nothing was wrong.

The blue scientist was not really concerned over things. He believed Shego would handle Kim, like always. He did not even think about Ron, as usual. He casually went through everything stacked on the shelves around the room, examining labels of items he did not know. He occasionally mumbled to himself, reading labels and wondering what they did.

Yori remained cemented in place while watching Shego take on Kim, not sure who she wanted to come out on top. She realized her left arm was trembling from indecision. Part of her wanted to jump in and help Kim. It would be the right thing to do, but another part of her wanted to jump in and help Shego. Technically, helping Shego would also be the right thing to do since she was Shego’s partner. Because of her confusion and hesitating, she failed to pay attention to what was going on with Ron, who she just hoped stayed stuck in the window until they could escape.

The blond sidekick managed to free himself and he ended up falling into Yori as he ripped his pants from the sill. Rufus squeaked and covered his eyes, knowing things would get worse for Rob before they got better. For a split second, Ron was proud he had not lost his pants, which was happening with less frequency, but it did still happen. His moment was very short-lived, though. The ninja went into action on instinct and kicked Ron away from her. When she realized what she did, she panicked and threw her hands up in worry, going into a surrender position. Ron fell back against Drakken.

“Stoppable-san,” Yori muttered and she took a step toward Ron to check on him, wanting to make sure she had not injured her first real friend. Rufus moved, going after Ron, but stopped because he would not get to Ron in time to do anything. 

Drakken turned around to push Ron away from him, which worked out since Ron was already off balance. The young man was fling back the way that he came, right into an approaching Yori. They collided and true to Ron’s usual fashion, he did something significant by accident. His hand went out and he yanked at Yori’s mask. Her covering fell to the ground with Ron. 

“What the?” Ron murmured as he looked in his hand to see the cloth he held. Naturally, he turned his eyes upward to see what he uncovered. Rufus’ jaw dropped.

“Ron-san, don’t look!” Yori implored as she tried to hide her face in her hands. Oh, how she wished she could just die at this very moment to not have to suffer the humiliation of Ron knowing what she did, knowing what she was.

“Ron-san?” Kim and Shego echoed in puzzled tones. The words brought a halt to their rumble for a moment and they turned to look at Yori.

“Yori?” Ron asked as he climbed to his feet. He scrunched his face up as he stared at her. “What’re you doing here?” he inquired, his eyebrow turned up and his eyes wide.

“I… um…” the ninja stammered, not knowing what to say. She turned her head away, hoping he would somehow think he was mistaken and it was not her. Her body shook worse than before, nerves jumping as she wished she could melt through the floor. She needed to be anywhere but here.

Ron looked around for a moment as his brain spun. He could not believe this. It could not be real. Maybe he hit his head on something and he was stuck in some daydream. He had to take in the scene again and recall what he saw when they arrived. When his mind pieced everything back together, he could hardly believe the answer he got, but his mouth blurted it out anyway due to the fact that he was incredulous.

“You’re working for Drakken now?” he demanded in a tone that was mixed with bemusement and fury, throwing his arms out wildly. He glared at her with fire in his eyes.

“I… It… I… um…” Yori could not think on how to begin explaining what was going on. She looked away again, eyes on the floor now, her shame so thick it seemed to weigh her entire head down. It was one thing to be doing something she knew was wrong, but to be caught in the act by her friends and to have them looking to stop what she was doing was too much. Ron’s reaction was not helping.

“What about all your honor stuff? You think this is honorable?” Ron huffed.

Yori flinched. “I… It’s not…” She was not sure how to explain it. If saying her school put her up to it was not good enough for Shego, it would never fly for Ron. 

“How could you do this to us?” Ron inquired, pain making his voice raw. His face twisted violently into several expressions from pure rage to utterly shattered. His heart sank into his stomach, which in turn followed most his organs to his knees. He felt so betrayed seeing the ninja there. It did not help matters she had kicked him in the first place.

“I… the contract… I…” she rambled in a voice that was so mumbled and low it did not even sound like she spoke English. She still had her hands over her face, now hiding from the world and her ragged disgrace. Behind her hands, her eyes were closed tight as if that would help her believe she was not there right now and Ron was not there right now. Her mouth was turned down in a pout while quivering, as if she was bordering on tears. The muscles of her entire body shuddered under Ron’s intense gaze, which she could feel tearing into her with murderous heat, cutting through every inch of her. It was amazing she was able to remain on her feet.

“How could you sink this low? I mean, we’re your friends and here you are working for Drakken? Stealing junk? You tell me all this crap about honor all the time and this is what you do? You don’t know what honor is at all. What’re you looking to rule the world right with him? Bend everyone to your will?” Ron hissed, getting in Yori’s face over it.

Yori seemed to shrink back as Ron screamed at her. He was on autopilot as far as his reaction went because he was so upset. His mind reeling, everything in his brain going a mile-a-minute. He finally understood the expression “seeing red.” How could this even be happening? The girl who was so obsessed with honor and always wanted to do the right thing was not only stealing, but also hanging out with Shego and Drakken and working with them. It was too much for him. She might as well have ripped out all of his organs and set them on fire right in front of his face from the way that he felt. She kind of knew that, which only made her feel worse and she wished that she could just die right now.

While the two friends were going through their “argument,” if it could be called that considering how tongue-tied Yori was. Drakken was not even paying them any mind. Kim and Shego gawked, as if they were watching a car wreck on the highway. They did not know what to do or how to jump in. Even Rufus was stuck in place.

Now, Kim was outraged to see Yori there, but nowhere near as much as Ron. Kim was more baffled than angry. She could not even believe Yori was there. It just seemed too fantastic, even for her. After all, what the hell would someone like Yori be doing with someone like Drakken? She wondered if there was a gas leak or some kind of drug in the lab affecting their brains, giving them hallucinations.

“I… I was… I was hired to do this. It is… It is my mission…” Yori muttered in a sorrowful tone, her hands finally dropping from her face. It took more energy than she had left to hold her hands up and try to protect some small piece of her rapidly fleeing dignity. Her heart felt like it was about to explode any minute and she hoped that was the case. Let her die to end the humiliation.

“It’s your mission to be a liar? To fight your friends? To steal stuff from people?” Ron hollered, throwing his hands out to the side as he spoke. His chest heaved as his anger continued to build. He had never felt like he did right now in his entire life. There were so many emotions, and none of them were good. It felt like he had the weight of the world put on his shoulders and he just could not handle it.

“I…” Yori felt like she was ready to break down, drop to her knees, and bawl like an injured baby right then and there. He was so furious with her that she could feel it radiating off of him, poisoning her soul, slowly killing her.

“Leave her alone, rat-boy!” Shego ordered without thinking. She could not take the heartbroken expression cracking Yori’s face, breaking down her body. It pained her to see Yori shaking so badly. She turned away from Kim, not that the hero was paying her any mind anymore. She looked to face off with Ron if he was going to keep on hurting her little ninja as he was.

“Stay out of it!” Ron barked, pointing at Shego, which would have shocked her if she was not so emotional right now right along with him. Yori and Kim were surprised by his tone, having never heard it before. Yori just felt more ashamed of herself, crawling deeper into herself, because Ron was so unlike himself thanks to her.

Shego snarled and ignited her hands higher than usual, looking to take on Ron. He was too infuriated to think about being afraid of the threatening posture Shego had taken. If she wanted to tango, then he was up for it. As long as he could get back to figuring out what the hell was wrong with Yori and why she was with the bad guys. 

“Hold on, Shego,” Kim said, finally coming out of her own incredulous stupor. She was not going to let the pale woman harm her best friend/boyfriend. Kim resumed her fighting stance.

“I’ve got it!” Drakken declared with a grin, pulling a small container of liquid from the shelf he rummaged through.

Shego huffed, knowing Drakken was ready to get out of there now. From the look on Yori’s face, Shego figured it would be best to get out of there. She decided to act quickly.

Shego threw a plasma blast, which was actually much stronger than usual. Luckily for Ron, he dodged it. Kim was about to jump into the act since Shego was going after her best friend, but Shego was still a step ahead. She grabbed Yori and went into a pouch on the ninja’s belt. She retrieved a small pellet and tossed it to the ground. The room was covered in smoke. When it all cleared, the bad guys were gone.

Kim sucked her teeth as the smoke began to clear away from the scene of the crime. “They got away,” she mumbled for lack of a better thing to say thanks to all of the weirdness that just happened.

“Yori!” Ron screamed to the ceiling. As soon as he was done yelling, his shoulders and head dropped in defeat. 

“It’s okay, Ron,” Kim tried to assure him, putting her arm around him with the hope of comforting him. 

“How could she do this to us?” he whimpered. They were supposed to be friends, he thought. Hell, they practically shared a sister and yet she had turned on _him_. He felt like Yori betrayed him personally, despite the fact that he had used the word “us.” 

“I don’t know, Ron. I don’t know,” the redhead replied. She was just as lost as he was. She thought Yori was their friend. Sure, they did not see each other all that often, but when they did see each other, everything seemed okay between them. She did not understand why Yori would turn against them and if she did not understand, she knew Ron was utterly and completely lost.

-8-8-8-8-

Yori was in a total catatonic state. She did not know Shego pulled her out of the lab and she was unaware she was in the backseat of the hovercraft. It did not register to her mind that anything was going on, not the wind slapping her in the face or whipping her hair in her eyes. She did not know where she was or who she was with. Part of her subconscious hoped she was dead.

“I told you that girl isn’t working out,” Drakken huffed, folding his arms across his chest as if he gained a victory because Yori was frozen in place.

“Shut up,” Shego replied, not in the mood to hear his mouth. She felt sludge was building in her system thanks to the exchange in the lab. She was not sure why, but Yori’s distressed state upset her greatly. She felt almost ready to just fly the hovercraft to Stoppable’s house and force him to apologize to Yori from the bottom of his heart to bring the ninja out of her current condition. _Who the hell is he to question her?_

“She didn’t do anything and it seems she knows Kim Possible,” he pointed out.

“Shut up,” Shego repeated with more attitude than before. Knowing Little Miss Perfect and the buffoon did not mean anything, but it probably did considering Yori’s state.

“When we get back to the lair, I’m letting her go,” Drakken decided, which he wanted to do anyway. He was glad to have an excuse for it.

Shego snarled and took her eyes off the sky to give Drakken her undivided attention for the moment. “Listen carefully,” she started in a dangerously low tone. “You’re not firing Yori. And if you ever entertain that idea again, I’ll do some very unpleasant things to you,” she promised, holding up a flexed, clawed hand that seemed more threatening without the plasma.

Shego was not about to let Drakken send Yori back to her school, especially not when she was so overwrought. There was no telling what the people at her school would be able to do to her while she was so down in the dumps, especially if they thought she failed her mission. She did not even want to think about Yori going back to that damned school.

Besides, the thief liked having Yori around and she was going to keep the ninja around because of that. She was not interested in hearing anything from Drakken or anyone else bad about the ninja, especially not now. Her major concern was to get Yori back to her normal self.

Drakken moved to the far side of the hovercraft because of Shego’s threatening posture and tucked into a ball as best he could. He gulped, hoping Shego did not follow him to his side of the vehicle. He then nodded let her know he would not be firing Yori anytime soon. 

“Okay, no need to get snippy,” he grumbled, hoping to get things back to normal.

The rest of the ride was quiet. It was tense, but quiet nonetheless. Shego glanced back every now and then to check on Yori. Shego was not sure Yori blinked for the entire ride. When Shego landed, Yori did not move.

“Hey, Cherry Blossom,” Shego said and snapped her fingers in front of Yori’s face.

After several loud snaps, Yori came out of her trance, blinking a couple of times very slowly. She did not acknowledge Shego’s presence as she pushed up from her seat. She dragged her feet as she walked to her room. Her shoulders slumped and her head hung low. Everything about her seemed pressed, like the world had crashed into her. She looked totally drained and beaten down, as if she had just lost a gang fight. 

Shego could not stand the sight of the defeated ninja. It made her feel emotions she had not felt in a long time, empathy being one of them, and she did not know why that was. She understood Yori knew Kim and Ron and it was obvious they thought Yori betrayed them. They did not understand what Yori was doing, how she was already hurting, and their reaction could not have helped. Shego knew how that was to a degree from a past she would rather not think about.

There was also an urge in Shego that she had not felt in a long time. She wanted to comfort Yori. Now, every now and then, she got the urge to stroke Drakken’s ego when he got down in the dumps, but what she was feeling right now was much greater than that. It sort of reminded her of when she was younger and her baby brothers used to run to her when they had nightmares. She could not resist the urge.

Instead of going off with Drakken to find out what the hell they just stole, Shego followed Yori. She trotted after the younger woman, but Yori made it to her room first. Shego would have just barged in, but she found the door locked. She understood that meant Yori wanted space, but she had no problem in letting the teen know that she was there for her. She knocked to get Yori’s attention and then just talked to the door.

“Cherry Blossom, if you need me, you know I’m across the hall,” Shego said. She stood there for a second to see if Yori would let her in. The door did not open, which Shego did not take offense to. Sometimes, people needed space and she understood that.

-8-8-8-8-

Yori heard Shego at her door. She was too busy crying to think about letting Shego in, physically or any other way. She just had the worst day of her life, which said a lot considering how crappy her younger life was. Her first true friend thought she betrayed him, thought she was dishonorable, and believed she was willingly on the wrong side, which she sort of was. She could not even explain because she kind of agreed with him. Had she not had those same thoughts? Hearing them from someone else, someone she respected made things so different, though. It cut her so deeply her mouth refused to work, her mind refused all her usual reasons.

She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she also needed to uphold the honor of her school. But, she could not say those things to Ron. Was she dishonorable for doing what her school, what her master, what her savior required her to do? Her chest hurt painfully and she felt so torn.

The ninja wept long and hard into her pillow. It was the first time in a very long time she ever cried. It was actually the first time she bawled so hard. She soaked her pillow with her tears and clutched her mattress with one tight fist. She finally had a bed and could not enjoy it. It was only a futon, but it was hers. It was great for her, which was the phrase she said to get Shego to stop arguing with her over it. She did not want anything too elaborate and she did not feel right about letting Shego buy her a bed after all the things Shego had purchased her.

After a few hours and a few good sobs, Yori heard her door quietly open. She was surprised by it and turned to see who was coming in, even though she could guess who. She was not stunned to see Shego walking toward her. The older woman had picked the lock to the door to get in. Yori did not say anything about it.

Shego looked around Yori’s room for a moment and she probably would have laughed if only the situation was not so serious. Yori’s room was covered in those wall scrolls that she went nuts over when they went to the mall. There were a couple of posters, too. On her dresser, which was made of a rich, light-colored wood, she had her manga all lined up neatly.

Shego’s emerald gaze fell on Yori, a lump on her bed. Shego’s expression dropped along with her stomach. It would seem the time alone had not helped Yori in any way, which hit Shego just as potently now as Yori’s feelings had earlier. The kid had a powerful hold on her, Shego dared to think.

“Shego-san…” Yori sniffled, wishing she could just hide under her bed now. She did not want the plasma-wielder to see her crying. Unfortunately, there was no underneath her bed. 

Shego sighed, but she did not say anything. She sat down on Yori’s bed, having to move the ninja’s legs to do so. She let Yori’s legs rest in her lap as she made herself comfortable. Yori was not sure if she wanted to look away or ask Shego what she was doing. She did not do either, surprising them both with her next actions. Yori turned herself around and leaned into Shego while starting to cry more.

“I’m guessing you know Little Miss Perfect and her buffoon,” Shego commented, even though that one was obvious.

“I could not even explain what I am doing to my friends! How can I explain this to myself if I cannot explain it to them? How can I believe in any of this if I cannot make others understand? What am I even doing, Shego-san? What?” Yori begged.

The thief rubbed Yori’s back. “Well, before anything else, you need to calm down. Take a deep breath and try to stop crying,” Shego commanded in a soft tone.

Yori nodded and tried to obey. She took a deep breath, but her tears continued to fall. She could not believe how upset Ron was with her. Her lungs decided to stop working as she remembered the disappointed furious look in his eyes. Her crying paused because of her pain and she could not make a sound. There was an intense agony, throbbing through out her entire being. Shego recognized the pause thanks to dealing with whiny little brothers when she was younger. She never would have thought babysitting would come in handy.

Shego put her arms around Yori and pressed the ninja against her in order to comfort her. Yori responded more from instinct than anything else when she returned the embrace. It had been many, many years since Yori had been hugged, especially to bring her comfort. The last person to do such a thing was probably her mother, Yori figured.

“What am I supposed to do? What?” Yori sniffled and hiccuped. “They are my friends. I do not want to hurt my friends. But, I cannot betray my school. I just cannot. What do I do?” she asked, her eyes darting all over the place, searching for answers or an escape. Anything to help her because she was so lost. 

“I told you already, you need to calm down first. If you settle down, you’ll be able to figure out what you can do about this. It’s time for you to do something for yourself or you’re just going to keep feeling like crap, regardless of who’s yelling at you.”

“I did not…” Yori sighed, swallowing down the rest of her words.

“You can’t even tell that lie. You’ve been torn up about this and I’m sure it was long before you showed up here and I said it out loud to you.”

Yori hid her face in Shego’s shoulder. “I have.”

“I know you have. Life isn’t here for you to feel like that. You should be able to hold your head up high and do something you’re proud of. You can’t carry this shame forever,” Shego said firmly, squeezing the ninja a bit. “You have to be true to yourself before anyone else.”

Yori shook her head wildly. “And how will this help me keep my friends?” She clutched onto Shego, as if she would never let her go. She did not have many friends in life, if any outside of Kim and Ron. She wanted them to remain in her life.

“If they’re really your friends, they’ll understand what you need to do,” Shego lied. Well, she believed she was lying. People were not that well-adjusted, she thought. She knew Kim would be all kinds of pissed if Yori continued doing what she was doing, just like Shego would be pissed if Yori decided to leave. Of course, Kim would probably forgive Yori a lot sooner for villainy than Shego would for leaving.

Yori nodded; she liked that answer. She wanted Kim and Ron to understand her position, but then again, she wanted to be able to explain it to them. She was not sure if she would be able to say anything to them if she saw them again. She had never experienced such stomach-churning humiliation and she was not sure if it was a one-time thing.

“Shego-san…” Yori whispered, her voice shaking again. She did not want to lose any friends and worst case scenario was that she would lose all of them, even the one helping her hold it together. Shego was against Kim and Ron, after all.

“Hmm?” the pale woman replied.

“Does it bother you that I know them?” It was a fear that just hit the ninja. She knew her employer’s enemies, enemies he seemed to share with Shego. Now, she was scared that she might lose Shego because she knew Kim and Ron, which was almost as horrible as losing those two.

Shego scoffed. “I’ve lived with them. So, no,” she answered honestly. Hell, she was a stone’s skip away from being something-that-looked-like-friends with Kim even now.

Yori made a puzzled face. “Lived with them?”

“Well, with Kimmie anyway. It’s a long, weird story. Anyway, you knew them before you got here and I’m not gonna fault you on that. As long as you don’t leak to them where I’m going to be when I’m out having fun, it doesn’t bother me much,” Shego replied with a shrug.

“So, I can be your friend and their friend?” Yori inquired in a small voice, which was caused by deep hope.

“You don’t get in my way and you can always be my friend,” Shego replied, even though that sounded odd to her. When was the last time she called someone a friend, after all?

The response did bring Yori some comfort. So, she just needed to figure out how she could remain friends with Kim and Ron and also stick with Shego. It seemed like it would be rather difficult to do since they were on opposite sides, but she really felt like it was something she _needed_ to do. She needed to finally listen to Shego and do it for herself.

While trying to think, Yori unconsciously snuggled closer into Shego. It seemed the body warmth and comforting form was a magnet for her. Shego noticed the pressure immediately, but found herself enjoying it, so she did not complain. She pulled Yori in closer still, hoping the ninja was going to be all right. She rubbed Yori’s back and felt the younger woman relax against her.

They sat there in silence for a long time. Yori found Shego’s breathing soothing, the rise and fall of Shego’s chest was almost like someone rocking her to sleep. The ninja easily slipped into slumber, practically resting in Shego’s lap. The green-skinned woman fell asleep, too.

Yori woke up to find herself lying down, even though she knew she had gone to sleep sitting up. She felt arms around her, so she knew she was still with Shego. Shego had fallen over only a moment ago, laying them both down, and that was what had woken Yori up.

The ninja looked up and studied the sleeping face of the first person to physically comfort her since her mother. She did not want to lose Shego, so she guessed she was going to continue to work with Drakken, but she did not want to lose Kim and Ron either. She also did not want to lose herself. Shego said that they could always be friends and she believed that, so she guessed she did not have to worry about that too much, which was a weight lifted off the ninja.

 _And, Shego-san might even help me find myself_. It was what Shego had been trying to do, after all. Yori felt like she could appreciate more now for some reason. 

Yori cuddled into the older woman a little more, delighting in the contact in a way she never had before. She turned her attention back to Shego’s face. Sleeping was probably the only time that Shego ever looked harmless, docile, and maybe even a little angelic. Her mouth was slightly parted, her tongue barely visible and Yori found her gaze locked onto that.

“I wonder…” Yori muttered. She found herself wondering what Shego tasted like. And even though she figured that it was a weird thought, she continued to think it. 

She decided to find out while she had the chance. She bit her lip, feeling the nip of nervousness at her throat. She swallowed that down, reminding herself that Shego assured her they would be friends no matter what. Besides, Shego was the one that kept implying all sorts of dirty things, so she probably would not mind. And she was sleeping, so she would not know, in case she might get mad.

Yori leaned in boldly, licking her lip, before she made contact. She really was not doing much, just pressing her mouth against Shego’s and it did not seem like anything really to her. And then the next thing she knew, those lips were kissing her back, which was when she did start to feel something beyond the physical sensation. Her eyes opened wide in amazement and she could somehow tell Shego was smiling, even though those emerald eyes were still shut and her mouth was busy.

“Shego-san…” Yori whispered in awe as she pulled away.

“Go back to sleep, Cherry Blossom,” Shego muttered. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

Yori nodded and settled back into against Shego’s body. The thief held onto Yori just a little tighter, almost possessively. They both easily fell back to sleep.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the end.


	6. The Start of Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters.

6: The Start of Something New

“Wade, any fix on Drakken?” Kim inquired, speaking to the genius through the wrist Kimmunicator. She was in Bueno Nacho with Ron, who scowled deeply and had not touched his Naco, which he believed counted as breakfast food. 

Kim was trying not to pay Ron too much mind while conducting business. She believed she could help him by pressing on, finding Drakken, thus finding Yori and Ron would have a chance to talk with her or move forward in accepting she was bad guy now if that was what she was. Kim knew if she focused too much on him, she would just want to comfort him and get him to stop looking like the world was coming to an end. She had tried last night to ease his worry and betrayed feelings, but she had no luck in it. So, now, she was trying to do something beyond the physical comforting. Only answers would be able to help her life-long friend.

“I got nothing so far,” Wade answered with a shrug. Drakken was being pretty quiet with his plan, which was something that was worrisome since the last time that Drakken was quiet about his plan he had nearly succeeded.

“Well, what about what he stole?” the redhead asked, resting her chin in her palm.

“Well, it’s a highly concentrated experimental formula to seed clouds,” he explained.

“You mean to make it rain?”

“Exactly. I’m guessing from that and the power cell that Shego stole for him a while ago is part of a weather machine or something,” Wade commented, almost bored.

“Didn’t he do that already?” Kim’s forehead furrowed as she went through her mental files. She had had a lot of missions in her hero career, but she was pretty sure that Drakken had already tried the weather machine angle.

“He’s probably running out of ideas,” Wade offered without missing a beat.

Kim did not argue that one since she found it to be quite plausible. She was actually stunned Drakken could still come up with schemes after so many years. He needed something better to do with his time in her opinion. Surely he could actually do something for the good of mankind if he would just put his mind to it and then people might take him seriously, she thought.

The hero glanced up at her best friend/boyfriend, just to check on him. He continued to look sour, like he failed to save the world. She wanted to reach other the table and take his hand in hers. He did not even look at her.

“Everything’s going to be fine, Ron. It’ll work out,” she promised. Everything would be fine, she kept telling him. He looked at her as if she was liar the first time she said it, which actually hurt her. It was that that made her aware her touch and her words were not going to be nearly enough to heal his wounds, especially not so soon after he received them.

She knew why that was. Ron felt betrayed by Yori, he felt lied to, and like every time the ninja pushed him to do the right thing, she was just manipulating him into doing what she wanted him to do. He was wounded to the depth of his soul, which he actually felt like he did not have anymore. It was like Yori sucked his whole spirit out of him when he saw her with Drakken.

He trusted Yori, trusted her with not just his life, but with his sister’s life and she would dare work for Drakken! Ron’s mind still fumed, boiling his soul, and only paining him more as he seethed over it. It was surprising smoke was not coming from the top of his head and out of his ears from the heated, fiery feeling burning in his gut. Yori might have had just stabbed him in the heart, in his opinion. At least that would have killed him and he would not have to live with his current tornado of emotions.

Ron had a headache from the agony dealt to him. The headache only got worse as his face fell permanently stuck in a scowl, tense and stiff. A churning in his stomach from all the turmoil he experienced joined it. His physical aliments along with everything else pressed down on him threatened to squash him flatter than a sheet of paper.

Kim turned her attention back to Wade. “Um… had any luck figuring out that other matter?” she asked.

“Not really. They cover their tracks pretty well there, as you know. I’m still looking around, though,” Wade answered.

“If you can, please try to find out why Yori was with Drakken,” Kim requested. She did not believe it was something deeper to it, but she wanted to help Ron. 

“I’ve been on it since you mentioned she was there,” he answered. Wade was trying to dig because he wanted to help Ron, too. Ron was his pal just as much as Kim was.

Kim glanced at Ron, who was still miserable. She turned her attention back to Wade. “You got anything?”

“The best I can tell is that Yori being there probably had something to do with Yamanouchi, but they don’t leave any traces of their operations. I’ll keep looking, but Yamanouchi ninja don’t just pop up unless their school wants them to,” Wade answered. Those words got Ron at least to look up. Kim offered him a small smile, hoping the thin theory would lift his spirits.

“So, you think Yori’s working on the inside to maybe bring Drakken down?” Ron asked with hope as he finally looked up at his girlfriend. There was a light in his eyes. He needed to believe Yori was not a bad guy. “I bet that is it. She’s been put on the case to watch Drakken and take him down. Master Sensei is a smart guy and he has to know how dangerous Drakken is, so he put his best ninja on the job.”

Kim looked away for a moment. It was plausible that Yori was spying, but it was more likely she was working with Drakken considering how she froze up when the good guys arrived. She did not have a cover story either. Kim really did not want to burst Ron’s bubble since he seemed like he was going back to his usual, chipper self. He had not had his usual energy since the mission last night. In fact, he had been like a zombie since then, so she really did not want to take away his first signs of life.

“Well, I didn’t say all that,” she muttered, speaking more to the table top than her boyfriend. She probably could have been a bit more supportive if she tried, but she still had a secret jealous spot over the ninja. She knew it was petty and now that she was older, she was trying to get over it, but it was a slow road she traveled.

“That’s probably it. Some secret ninja thing to stop Drakken once again for all. That’s why she said it was a mission!” Ron proclaimed with a grin more to himself than anyone else. He punched his fist into his palm as he spoke because he was certain he figured things out. He felt loads better now. He started to eat his breakfast while making plans to talk things over with Yori when he saw her again.

Kim frowned, less convinced of her boyfriend’s confidence the ninja was working covertly, but that was not really her issue. She was more interested in finding out where Drakken had disappeared off to and what he was doing with his repeat weather machine. She doubted he was totally replicating his old scheme. He was too creative for that, too dangerous for that. She tapped her fingers on the table lightly and waited for Wade to get back to her with news on Drakken.

-8-8-8-8-

Yori had been awake for hours, but she did not move at all. She was still pressed against Shego, as she had been for most of the night. Shego was asleep, breathing in a way that Yori discovered was very soothing to her only last night. She would not mind if Shego slept for the whole day as long as she could hear and feel the older woman breathing. 

She had never been near someone in recent times where she could appreciate something simple like the rhythm of the breathing. She had never been calm enough where she could appreciate something such as breathing either. Her life was more turmoil than she ever cared to admit, but now, she realized just how messed up everything had been for her and that was thanks Shego… well, thanks to Shego and Ron’s outrage. 

But, in Shego’s embrace, it felt like the chaos had faded away. Yori felt safe… really safe, not in the same way as practicing her skills. This was beyond her, which only made her think about how messed up she really was. Other people knew about this, she bet, but she had been neglected for so long, kept in the dark so long, she had no idea. She had no idea about anything.

In her calm, waking hours Yori figured out what she should do about her current predicament. She was all right with the idea that came to mind, even though it involved some dishonesty. At least it was dishonesty to do the right thing, which she found herself all right with. She had been doing dishonest things for so long and it bothered her because it seemed to be for no reason aside from money. She could do something right now that would be beneficial to people, but she hoped it went over well with the people she cared about, the people who mattered. She could not stand losing them, so for them and for herself, she was going to step away from doing everything because of her school.

With that out of the way for the moment, Yori was allowed to think of the other big thing on her mind. It was the reason she was anxious for Shego to wake up, even though it would mean the soothing breathing would change. She thought about the kiss they shared, and she had been thinking about it on and off since she woke up. It started out with her trying to sneak a kiss, but she was surprised when Shego returned it last night. Now, she wanted to talk about it and what happened. She wanted to know what would happen next.

Yori was not sure, but she could have sworn for the brief moment their lips touched, she felt electricity go through her body. When that lightning feeling passed, she just felt a gentle warmness go through her, causing a sensation she had nothing to compare it to. She wondered if Shego had the same feeling and if kissing was always like that. Last night was her first one.

The ninja guessed she was about to find out as Shego’s breathing against her did change ever so slightly. She watched as Shego’s face twitched slightly and then the pale woman yawned a little. She squeaked as Shego pulled her closer.

“Now, that is a cute noise,” Shego mumbled, showing she was fully awake now, even though her eyes were still closed. She caressed Yori’s side since her hand rested there.

Yori was ready to melt just from the gentle petting. What was the feeling? Yori had no idea, but she never wanted it to end.

“Shego-san… um… good morning,” the ninja said for lack of a better thing to say. She was lucky she could remember how to speak considering how distracting she found Shego’s hands to be.

“Indeed it is. Better than I’ve had in a months,” Shego remarked, opening her eyes to look at the woman in her arms.

Yori smiled a bit. “Thank you for staying with me.” She certainly appreciated the fact that Shego stayed with her throughout her bleakest moment. She was not sure if anyone else on the planet would do such a thing for her right now.

“No problem. Gave me an excuse to sleep next to a beautiful woman, so I don’t have any complaints,” Shego quipped and that earned her a blush from the younger woman.

“You have helped me a lot in the short time we have known each other. I really appreciate it.”

“I could tell.” 

Yori’s face scrunched up. “How could you tell?”

“A hint from early this morning sorta clued me in,” Shego remarked. 

Yori continued to look puzzled for a moment. It was clear when it dawned on her what Shego was implying. Her mouth opened slightly and her eyebrows shot up. Shego chuckled from Yori’s expression. She looked so shocked that it was cute. Who was Shego kidding? She thought most of the things Yori did were adorable in some way. 

“I was hoping to talk to you about that,” Yori admitted.

“I figured you would,” Shego replied. Yori seemed to need to talk about everything, which was not annoying to her. That was surprising in and of itself, but she was coming to see she had a lot of patience when it came to the teenager.

“Um… that was my first kiss…” the ninja confessed, looking away as she admitted that. She felt a little bit ridiculous saying that because she felt like Shego knew so much about the world while she was rather limited in almost everything.

The super-powered woman supposed that made sense, but she was still shocked by it. “Your first one? But, you’re almost nineteen,” she pointed out, stating the obvious because of her shock. She would have thought teenage hormones would have at least pushed Yori sneak in a kiss while training. But, then she remembered Yori was brainwashed into thinking she owed the school everything, so she had probably spent most of time focusing on her training, believing she owed all her time to the school.

The ninja looked away again for a moment. “I know. I’ve been focused on my training most of my life and the only person I ever considered kissing aside from you was Stoppable-san.”

Shego was shocked again and her mouth fell open. Or maybe she was disgusted, she was not too sure. It was just creepy to know Yori was attracted to Ron and was now attracted to her.

“The buffoon?” Shego said incredulously, shaking her head. “Ah, don’t even bring him up while I’m in bed. Geez,” she groaned. She supposed she was going to have to work passed that because she was not letting the ninja go.

Yori giggled a bit since she could tell that Shego was being overly dramatic. “Please, do not refer to him that way.”

“But, he’s such an idiot,” Shego groaned. “How could you like him?”

Yori silently admitted things were a bit weird for her, too. Not because she thought something was wrong with Ron, but first she liked Ron and now she liked Shego. She liked a boy first and now she suddenly liked a woman. She was not sure if that was normal. It did not bother her much since liking anyone was foreign territory to her. It was not like she learned anything about sexuality and things of that nature while she trained at Yamanouchi. Missions involving seduction had been left to other ninja.

“I was wondering… I mean, kissing you felt really good. Is it supposed to feel that way?” Yori asked.

“Doy. If it didn’t feel good, people wouldn’t do it so much,” Shego commented with a smart-aleck smirk on her face.

Yori conceded that point. “So, it felt good to you?”

“Hmm…” Shego pretended to muse on her response. She answered by leaning down and kissing Yori on the lips.

The ninja tensed for a moment because of the surprise, but she quickly relaxed as she realized that was happening. Her eyes closed on their own while she was taken in by the feeling of Shego’s mouth against hers. That warm feeling that she felt before returned and she was ready to melt into Shego. A part of her brain registered that Shego’s hands were massaging her hips, which only made the warm feeling more intense.

Shego would be able to relate to Yori’s reaction to the kiss. It was quite the delight and she would not mind doing it more often. When Shego pulled away, Yori whimpered in protest.

“That answer your question, Cherry Blossom?” Shego asked, smirking a bit.

Yori licked her bottom lip, tasting Shego on her mouth. She was not quite sure what she would say the plasma-wielder tasted like. It was more a concept than a flavor. Shego’s lips were like a gentle summer rain on a hot, humid night.

“Um… yeah…” the ninja replied in a breathless tone.

“Anything else on your mind?” Shego inquired. She hoped it had something to do with biology, but she doubted it would be. That would probably be rushing things quite a bit and she did not want to do anything that might be harmful to Yori in the long run.

“Yeah, a few things. I want to be honest with you since you have helped me so much since I’ve been here. So, can I tell you the decision I have come to?”

“Hit me with it.”

Yori nodded and before she started talking, she curled up more into Shego. She felt more confident in being able to say what she was going to say when she felt Shego’s hold on her tighten. Shego also continued caressing her, which only helped. Shego kissed her forehead.

“I like that,” Yori admitted without thinking. She blushed as soon as she realized what she said.

“Then, I’ll be sure to do it more often,” Shego replied. It would not be a hardship on her, after all. Yori smiled and it made Shego happy. “Now, tell me about what’s on your mind.”

They had come a long way in such a short period time. They went from having no respect for each other and doubting each other’s skill to where they were gladly sharing a bed. Not to mention Yori was sharing plots on what she was going to do with her life. They both figured they would be together for a good while, too. They would see just how far what they started could go.

-8-8-8-8- 

Shego and Yori stood next to each other in the main room of the lair. They were supposed to be focusing on two things. The first thing they were supposed to behold was the large, cylinder-shaped machine the center of the room. It went all the way to the ceiling and there was an opening for it to continue on. The second thing they were supposed to be paying attention to was Drakken, who was doing his tradition rant/explanation of what his machine did. They were not doing either of those things.

“Um… Are his things always this big?” Yori asked, motioning to the machine with a quick wave of her hand.

“No, but they’re usually this dumb,” Shego remarked, folding her arms across her chest and rolling her eyes, which was directed at Drakken.

“What is it meant to do?” the ninja asked.

“From what I can tell, from not listening to him, he’s going to use it to seed the clouds and rain down this brainwashing shampoo he invented a couple of years ago that he still seems to have a bunch of and rule the world,” Shego sucked her teeth. There was no way in hell this would work. First off, the machine was too big to even leave the lair. Where would he use it?

“And what is he talking about?” Yori asked, pointing at Drakken, who was walking a few feet away from them while going on and on, oblivious to the fact that they were not listening to him.

“Who cares,” Shego replied with a shrug. Yori nodded and mimicked Shego in not caring.

Drakken continued rambling as far as his two sidekicks were concerned. Little did he know, while he was talking, they were making plans for later on. They only turned to look at him when the room was silent. He did not look pleased when they met his gaze.

“You’re not listening to me!” Drakken huffed, stomping his foot and making fists.

“Sure we are,” Shego lied and then she shrugged once more. “Well, we’re doing something like listening.”

“If you don’t listen to me, how are you supposed to know how the machine works,” he pointed out in a heated tone while motioning to the weather machine.

“Well, you’re making the assumption that we give a damn how the machine works,” she countered calmly.

“The hurting words, Shego,” Drakken commented with a sour expression, turning his mouth up and folding his arms across his chest.

Shego sighed. “Fine, show us how the hopelessly complicated machine works,” she said without much feeling. She wished he would not whine so much and that way she would not have to give into him.

Drakken smiled as he went to show them how the machine worked, having to turn it on first. Yori smiled a little, too. As rough as Shego acted, it was nice to see her soft side directed at Drakken. Yes, he seemed immature and insecure, but he really wanted Shego’s acknowledgement. Yori understood that now and she sort of understood why he would.

Shego turned her eyes from the machine to her nails. They were much more interesting than Drakken when he was all excited. Yori stared at the machine for a while, taking in what the scientist said and did. It seemed easy, but she suspected that was because Shego gave her a tutorial before Drakken started his rant. Shego was surprisingly knowledgeable in science.

-8-8-8-8-

Kim’s Kimmunicator suddenly went off. She wasted no time in answering it, even though she was in class. “What’s the sitch, Wade?”

“Kim, there was this huge energy signal off of Drakken’s volcano lair. I think that might be him activating his machine,” Wade reported.

“I’m on it, Wade,” Kim informed him.

“Finally,” Ron said. He was anxious to get to Yori to apologize to her since he now figured out she was conducting some secret ninja mission to stop Drakken. Although, he could not figure out why Yamanouchi was suddenly interested in stopping the mad scientist. The why did not matter to him, though; it was all about the fact that he was certain that she was not a bad guy now. Plus, he got out of history class.

-8-8-8-8-

“All right, so do you two understand how the machine works?” Drakken inquired, speaking to his two sidekicks.

“Oh, yeah,” Shego replied. Yori only nodded.

“Are you sure?” he asked suspiciously. He probably would have believed them if only Shego was not filing her nails as she spoke.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she replied flippantly. The ninja nodded again.

“All right, then let’s fire this bad boy up and get to building my brainwashed army! Now, where should I hit first?” Drakken wondered aloud, a finger to his chin, showing that he was pondering a location.

“Yamanouchi,” Shego volunteered with a bright smile. She would like to see how they liked being mind-raped.

“Shego-san!” Yori objected with a slightly upset expression on her face. She knew Shego held no love for her school, but it was her school. She would even concede they had messed with her mind a little bit, but they still made her who she was, so she did not want to see any harm befall them.

“What? It’s just a little harmless brainwashing shampoo,” Shego commented in a light tone, as if it was nothing serious. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.” If would be nice to get a use out of Drakken’s machine before the scheme fell to pieces.

“Leave Yamanouchi out of it,” Yori said.

“Fine, fine, fine. I retract my request,” Shego replied with a sigh.

“What about Iceland?” Drakken proposed. He figured that might be a way to sneak back into Shego’s good graces since he had upset her about wanting to fire Yori. After all, Shego seemed to be interested in having control over Iceland.

Shego shrugged, disinterested. Yori did not see the big deal about Iceland. Drakken sighed and frowned from his sidekicks’ lack of interest in his scheme. He turned his attention to a computer panel, which would be where he programmed coordinates in for his machine to hit a certain area. Shego would like to see that work.

“Come on, where should I hit?” Drakken begged. He wanted some input.

“I know where you should get hit,” a voice remarked from the top of the machine.

“Kim Possible?” Drakken gasped in shock as he and his minions looked up.

“Does he always say that when she shows up?” Yori asked Shego.

“I’m guessing he likes knowing he can remember something,” Shego remarked with a half-smile. “So, I’ve got Possible. You handle… Stoppable,” she muttered as if the name tasted bitter in her mouth. She would have to get used to it a bit since he was such a good friend to Yori.

“Hey, she finally remembered my name!” Ron cheered, grinning as he felt that he was finally getting some respect from the pale woman. Rufus gave him a high-five.

“I’m happy for you, sweetie,” Kim said sarcastically as she jumped down, only to be met by Shego.

“Keep them away from the machine!” Drakken ordered.

“I’m on it,” Shego replied, keeping Kim occupied as usual.

Ron jumped down from the machine, proud to not get snagged by anything on the way down. He was about to start touching things on the computer panel since he landed close, but he suddenly found himself in Yori’s grip. She flung him away from the machine since her orders were to “keep them away from the machine.”

“Yori, what’re ya doing?” Ron implored while trying to catch his balance.

“I am keeping you away from the machine,” Yori replied while standing between him and Drakken, who was still standing by the computer of his machine.

“Wait, wait, wait, you’re actually listening to Drakken?” Ron inquired, throwing his hands out in disbelief. Now, he was confused. Was Yori trying to help Drakken win by keeping him away from the machine? That did not make any sense. It did not match up with the fact that he was sure she supposed to be undercover to ruin Drakken’s scheme or bring him in or something.

“He is my employer,” Yori informed her friend. Her tone was cold, which was only baffling him all the more. 

“What are you talking about?” Ron screamed, throwing his hands out in frustration. “Isn’t this some big secret ninja mission thing?”

“Something like that,” Yori replied, still sounding frozen and indifferent toward Ron.

“Did Drakken ‘chip you? He did it to Kim and Shego once. He got you, too, I’ll bet,” Ron figured. There had to be some rational explanation for why Yori was on the bad guys’ side and he was willing to go down a list of not-so-rational explanations until he got to the real reason. 

“What is chipped?” the ninja asked.

“Shego, why isn’t the ninja girl fighting the buffoon?” Drakken inquired in an annoyed voice as he watched Yori just standing there.

“A little busy, Doctor D,” Shego replied. She was busy trying to claw Kim in half from what the redhead could tell.

“What the hell did you two do to Yori?” Kim demanded, dodging the plasma-charged attack.

“Oh, you don’t even want me to start answering that question, Pumpkin,” Shego remarked with a devilish smirk.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kim growled. She was not sure how to take the implications, but considering the things that Drakken had done in the past, she was with Ron on considering that Yori might actually be chipped.

Shego did not respond. Well, she supposed it was nice that people Yori assumed were her friends were worried about her. It showed she did not get all worked up over nothing and that her friends were worth fighting for. Shego was actually happy she decided to support Yori in trying to keep her friends, even if they were Possible and Stoppable, who were their enemies. Well, they were enemies when they clock was going anyway.

“I know! I’ll make it rain in here and then Kim Possible will be my slave because of the shampoo!” Drakken declared with a grin. He obviously thought that was quite the brilliant plan.

“He’s going to make it rain brainwashing shampoo in a room that we’re all standing in,” Shego commented, speaking more to herself than anyone else. It was just that the idiocy involved in that move amazed her.

“He doesn’t think these things out at all anymore, does he?” Kim asked Shego with a deadpan look on her face.

“Did he ever really think these things out?” Shego countered with an almost twin expression.

Kim shrugged since she thought Shego had a point. They halted their fight, silently agreeing on a timeout as Drakken turned his attention to the computer keyboard. Yori and Ron were intrigued with what was going on by the machine, too. They all turned to see Drakken typing into the computer. He was actually going to make it rain brainwashing shampoo in a room where not only his sidekicks were, but so was he. Shego shook her head as she watched him, curious if he really was that freaking out of his little mind. She grabbed Kim as the redhead tried to rush Drakken. 

“What the hell?” the hero said as she was yanked back by Shego. She could not believe she was being halted from saving them all from Drakken’s loony plan by someone with a brain.

“Wait for it, cupcake,” Shego remarked with a smile.

“Are you nuts?” Kim demanded. Shego shrugged while keeping a good grip on the redhead. Kim turned her attention to Ron. “Ron, stop Drakken.”

“I’m on it, K.P,” Ron called and he tried to go forward, but Yori continued to block his path. “Yori, get outta the way!” he pled, hands up in a begging position. 

“I cannot do that, Stoppable-san,” Yori said in a firm tone.

“That’s right, ninja girl, keep the buffoon away from me while I enter these coordinates,” Drakken stated. He seemed thrilled with Yori now, even though he was not using her name.

“Yori, move!” Ron begged desperately.

“I cannot,” she repeated.

Rufus tried to spring into action, but even he was not fast enough. He leaped out of Ron’s pocket, but Yori put her foot out, tripping the little rodent. He slid across the floor. She kept a close eye on him, not wanting to hurt him.

“And now, Kim Possible will be mine!” Drakken cackled as he hit the enter button on his computer. Kim gasped while Ron’s jaw practically hit the floor. The same with Rufus. Drakken won from what they could tell. Drakken actually won.

And then, the whole machine started to explode. Kim laughed a little. Of course the machine would explode.

“What’s going on?” Drakken begged, looking up at the machine as smoke began to pour out of it.

“Same thing as always. Let’s get the hell out of here!” Shego called, knowing things were not going to end well. She was actually speaking to everyone and they seemed to know that.

Shego grabbed Drakken as the computer blew up near him. He nearly lost his fingers, but Shego got to him just in time. She then grabbed up Yori as the explosions fed into each other and grew larger. While Drakken wondered what was going on, Shego pointed to an exit for the two heroes to use while the villains went out the opposite way. Kim and Ron did not question why Shego helped them and ducked out before things got worse, which they did. The machine flared up as huge chunks of hot metal flew from it, tearing through other items around the lab and lair.

“Did Shego just help us?” Ron asked as he and Kim made it safely to the beach outside of the liar.

“I think she did,” Kim replied.

“Um… okay, why?” he inquired, eyebrows curled up. He started to think he was just in a dream with how backwards everything seemed. The only thing that made sense was that Drakken’s machine blew up, but even that was usually helped along by accident.

“Hell if I know,” the redhead answered honestly. She agreed with Ron. Maybe they were both stuck in a nightmare. She tried to think if they might have eaten something that was either bad or that they had just eaten too late one night and that was bringing on peculiar dreams.

-8-8-8-8-

“Why does this always happen!” Drakken cried to the heavens as they escaped the exploding lair in a hovercraft. He was in the backseat lamenting how close he was to winning that time. His sidekicks were in the front seats with Shego acting as the pilot.

“You okay?” Shego asked Yori with concern. She looked over at the younger woman to make sure she did not have any visible wounds or scratches. The ninja appeared to be quite all right.

Yori nodded. “I’m fine. You?” She also looked Shego over for any injures, but did not see anything out of the ordinary. Shego was not even winded after having to practically carry Drakken to the hovercraft.

“Still in one piece. Good thing we moved our stuff out before that little mix up. Did you know that was going to happen?” Shego inquired in a low tone with an intrigued expression. She had not expected several growing explosions. It was very out of hand.

“Well, I really did not think it would be that big,” Yori admitted with an embarrassed look on her face. 

“I’m going to have to teach you how to read blueprints better,” Shego sighed and shook her head. Yori only smiled sheepishly. 

-*-(New day)-*-

“Okay, I don’t get it. What the hell is Yori doing with Drakken? I mean, she totally blocked me from turning off the machine and tripped Rufus when he was about to save the day. We got lucky that the thing exploded!” Ron griped as he and Kim were headed into to Bueno Nacho. She was going to treat him to hopefully calm him down. 

“Ron, I think you just have to face it that Yori’s a bad guy now,” Kim commented because that seemed to be the easiest and most logical explanation. It was either that or back to the bad dream theory.

“Wow, Princess, you don’t have any faith at all in the little ninja, huh?” Shego queried from behind the couple, causing them to whip around. They were face to face with Shego and Yori, both of whom were in street clothes. In fact, the two raven-haired beauties were dressed semi-formally, both looking their best.

“What’re you two doing here?” Kim demanded as she tensed up, ready to throw down it seemed.

“Will you cut that out! Damn it,” Shego huffed. “Save people’s asses and they still act all uptight when they see you. We’re off the clock. Drakken’s all depressed over what happened,” she commented, sounding rather amused.

“Then what do you want?” Kim asked, relaxing for the most part. She knew Shego being off the clock was better than any truce that they could ever call.

“Yori’s looking to talk to you two for a second,” Shego answered and she motioned over to Yori.

The ninja took a step forward and looked at her friends. She was silent for a moment, just needing to find her voice. She made sure to keep eye contact with them, though. She wanted them to be able to look at her and see she was not as terrible as they thought she was. She was still the same Yori they knew, just in different circumstances. Hell, she might actually end up being better than the Yori they knew and for that, she could hold her head up high. After all, she was finally doing something to help them instead of the other way around.

“I know you think very ill of me, but working for Drakken was not my choice. He hired me through Yamanouchi, but that still does not make this right. I am sorry you had to see me this way, but just because I do this job does not mean that I am against you,” the ninja explained.

“You work for our arch foe,” Kim pointed out.

“I follow his orders, but I have my own mind.” Yori glanced at Shego, who smiled and nodded. Yori took a breath and turned back to her friends. “I am going to continue to be paid by this man, as long as he has a contract with Yamanouchi, but that does not mean I have to agree with what he does,” Yori insisted.

“You’re not making any sense,” Ron of all people pointed out.

Yori reached out and took Ron’s hand. He was going to ask her what she was doing, but then he saw her place something in his palm. He looked confused.

“What’re these things?” Ron inquired. He was now holding few small metallic black cylinders.

“They are from the machine that was going to turn everyone into mindless slaves,” Yori answered with a bit of a smile.

“Wait, is this why it blew up?” Ron asked.

“Yes. He ordered me to steal pieces to build the machine and he ordered me to keep you away from it, but he never said anything about me not touching it or taking parts away from it,” Yori commented with more of a smile. She was rather proud of herself, it seemed.

“Oh! You sly fox, you!” Ron grinned. She was not a bad guy. She was more like a man on the inside, so to speak.

Ron was so overcome with joy with Yori not being a bad guy he grabbed her into a tight hug. It was appropriate, but still bothered two people present, Kim and Shego. They decided not to say anything and let Ron and Yori have their moment. After all, they both needed it.

“Oh, man! I’m so sorry for blowing up on you like I did, Yori!” Ron apologized wholeheartedly. He pulled away a bit to look her in the eye. “I am so sorry for that,” he reiterated.

“It is quite all right, Ron-san. I think I needed it,” Yori admitted. If it was not for his outburst, she never would have realized how messed up she truly was. Or her self-discovery would have taken much longer. Thanks to his raw emotion and pain from seeing her do such terrible things, she was able to wake up and see just how much she was hurting herself and those around her by doing something that she knew was quite wrong.

He made a skeptical face. “You needed me to yell at you like that?”

“You brought me off a path I disliked traveling, but was going to bear the burden of. Your anger let me know that someone out there cares about what I do with my life and my life is my own. I cannot keep using excuses to do the wrong thing and lose all sense of self and self-respect at the same time. I need to start thinking about myself and those that care about me,” she explained.

“Wow, I did all that?” Ron asked in an impressed tone.

“Yes, Ron-san, you and, well, a little bit of someone else,” Yori replied with a shy smile.

“Well, me and someone else kick ass to get you screw up Drakken’s machine like that. Man, you really had me going for a second, though. I mean, for a while I thought you were a complete and total bad guy,” he said.

“I might as well have been. But, now, I am going to step into a little grey area and hope I am comfortable with it. It was nice to help you guys out and ruin that machine,” Yori admitted with a smile. She was able to do the right thing in the long run and she helped save people.

“Well, that makes up for one thing, but what about all of the stealing?” Kim pointed out, hoping it would get Yori to step away from Ron now as they had been embracing long enough in her opinion. Shego agreed with that assessment.

“I have a contract. It is my honor to uphold my contract,” Yori replied.

“It was also her honor to force me to carry that damn power cell back to where we got it,” Shego grumbled with a frown, folding her arms across her chest. She was not sure what was more annoying, returning the power cell or locating it in all of that rubble from the destroyed lair. Ron and Kim thought that was an odd thing for her to say but chose to ignore it for the moment.

“So, you’re going to keep stealing?” Ron asked curiously, focusing on the ninja.

“Well, yes and no. I am hoping to take things to Drakken and then return them later on when he is not watching. I need to uphold my contract or someone else will replace me and they may not take pieces from Drakken’s evil machines,” she explained. She wanted to stay where she was and for that to happen Yamanouchi needed to think she was doing her job.

“Well, Yori, since you’re not a bad guy really and you’re not on the clock, you can hang out with us, then,” Ron suggested with a bright smile. He felt giddy knowing she was not evil.

“Um… I cannot actually…” Yori replied with a blush invading her cheeks.

“No? Why? You can’t hang out with us off the clock?” he inquired. “Drakken won’t care. Shego lived with KP and Drakken didn’t care!”

Yori chuckled. “This is the second time I am hearing of this. I need might need the full story.”

“It’s not that interesting,” Shego said, but there was a little bite in her voice that made it seem like it was that interesting.

“The point is, you can hang out with us. Drakken won’t care. He’d probably hang out with us if he could,” Ron said. Kim and Shego realized that was probably true. Of course, it would not stop him from trying to rule the world afterward.

“It is not that actually. I just have plans tonight. But, you can call me. I just got a cell phone,” Yori said with girlish glee lighting up her face. She had never had her own cell phone, as in a line of her own to take private calls on. Shego had just taken her to get one yesterday.

“Um… Okay…” Ron answered in a confused tone. He could not figure out why she was so happy to have a cell phone. After all, as far as he knew, everyone had a cell phone.

Yori recited her number for him. He wrote her number down on his hand with a pen Rufus handed him from his pocket. Kim quickly programmed the digits into her Kimmunicator because she knew he was bound to forget it was there, wipe or wash it off by accident, and then lament over how he lost the number.

“So, how does this work?” Kim asked, referring to how Yori was going to be working for Drakken.

“It should work just like it did the other day, except we will all be aware of what is happening. We sort of put on a decent show, I guess,” Yori answered.

“Sounds good. I’m glad you’re still one of the good guys, Yori,” Ron said, still smiling up a storm.

“It is nice to be something like one of the good guys,” Yori replied. She supposed she had a long road ahead of her to get where she really wanted to be, but she was content with the start that she made.

“Hey, what’re your plans for tonight, anyway?” Ron asked.

“Oh, Shego is taking me to the movies. Dinner and then the movies, I believe,” Yori answered with a smile as she stepped back next to the pale woman, who put a possessive arm around the ninja’s waist. “I have never actually been in a movie theater.”

“To the movies? Like friends?” Ron inquired with a baffled look on his face because of where Shego’s arm was situated.

“No, not like friends,” Shego answered with a devilish smile. “You put those pieces together yourself. Yori’s already handed you everything else, so you use your head this time.”

“Farewell, friends. We will speak soon,” Yori said.

Shego led Yori away to Shego’s car. Yori turned her head to smile at her friends. She waved at them while they just stood there dumfounded, their mouths opened wide from shock and their eyebrows curled up from confusion.

“Do you think they’re…?” Ron asked, trailing off because he could not even imagine Yori like that. After all, last time he checked, she liked him, so she liked guys, goodnatured guys.

“You know what, Ron, I think we’ve learned enough about Yori for one night. Let’s just be happy she’s still on our side,” Kim replied with a smile.

Ron nodded, even though he was still shocked Yori appeared to be dating Shego. It actually was not an appearance. Yori was dating Shego.

It was new, of course, only a few days old. Something Shego suggested after they shared several kisses after making it to the backup lair after the explosion. So far, they were doing all right, helping each other in a way. Yori was finding her way in the world thanks to Shego and Shego was finding her compassion, understanding, and several other positive emotions had not withered away while being locked away for a long period of time.

They got to know each other much better while doing regular dates, like going to the movies, taking walks in the park, trips to museums, and trying out plenty of restaurants, until Drakken got another crazy idea. The inevitable happened, of course; Kim and Ron showed up to put a stop to Drakken’s scheme.

“Um… Before we start, is this explosion going to be as big as that first one?” Ron asked Yori in a whisper as they pretended to face off. “I mean, I almost lost my eyebrows to that one.”

“To be honest, I do not know. Shego refuses to help me pull parts out and she’s the one who knows about machines way better than I do. She explains how the machine works and helps me read blueprints, but this is all still very new to me. Just be ready to run when he touches a button,” Yori answered in a whisper of her own. She was on her own when it came to sabotage since the furthest Shego would go was to tell her what she should probably yank out after her explanations on how the machine worked. 

Shego figured a degree of separation between her and the actual sabotage would spare her conscience when Drakken started whining about how close he was to winning. She also liked to tell herself that Drakken was never actually going to win anyway and it eased her little ninja’s nerves to do something for the good of people, so she was fine with things.

“This is just wild,” Ron said with a chuckle and then he went at Yori to make it look good.

-8-8-8-8-

The End. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the story. There’s a sequel called [Evil Takes a Vacation](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13018131) with more SheYo goodness. I’m returning to my padded cell.

Bonus gallery: The Price of Honor by [Festum](http://starvinglunatic.deviantart.com/art/Price-of-Honor-110744975) (line art) and [Alexlayer](http://starvinglunatic.deviantart.com/art/The-Price-of-Honor-110743301) (colors). Please leave any comments for the artists on their pages. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna see more of my fanfics, they're all at FFN under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fanfiction.net/~starvinglunatic). If you wanna see some original stories, you can look at FP under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fictionpress.com/u/576301/).
> 
> Come say hi to me on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SL-Kassidy-482097488469386/).


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